Trapped
by Animejessi
Summary: He didn't know what he did wrong. Why were they punishing him? What made them so angry at him to end up doing this. He just didn't have an answer to that. But now he's older and he doesn't need them anymore.
1. Alone

**Author's Note: ****Okay, folks second fanfic! I actually wrote this one before the other story, but I posted the other first. I wrote this story thinking about what Izaya's past might have been like. It's going to take place in his high school years and beyond, with mentions of middle school and soother things like that. Anyway, tell me what you think and I hope you enjoy the story! **

**Disclaimer: I do not and will never own Durarara! or it's awesome characters.  
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**Trapped**

He didn't understand what he had done to deserve this. What had he done to deserve this punishment, this... this torture? Maybe he didn't get good enough grades. He supposed he could do better than getting 100% on every test and assignment. Maybe he talked too much for their liking. What was a few less words for a child who rarely spoke in the first place? Or maybe he was hungry too often. He could go without food for a few more days couldn't he? It could also be that he asked for too much. He didn't really need a bed, did he? The floor was doing him just fine.

He didn't want to think about the real reason he was in here. It was too painful, and he didn't want to believe it. But he had to face the truth sometime. And now was as good a time as any. His parents hated him. His parents hated him and that was why he was here. That was why they had locked him in this dark, cramped closet. And that was why they were never coming back.


	2. Friend

**And now, what you've all been waiting for… chapter two of Trapped! Yeah, that's right Chapter Two. I think I've decided to much this a longerish story. I see potential in this story. I hope you line it and that it doesn't disappoint any of you lovely people. So without further ado, I give you Trapped.**

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A few days after he was locked in the cramped closet, the maid came and let him out. She was shocked to see him to say the lest and she questioned him severely, but Izaya never answered her. In fact, after that he changed completely.

The summer of sixth grade ended and he soon started seventh grade. Izaya was no longer the quiet, good boy that he once was. He was obnoxious and loud and caused trouble for those around him. His obsession with humans began and he started manipulating everyone he met.

He decided that since his parents didn't love him, he would just have to get the attention he needed from his precious humans. So he made them hate him too. He did everything in his power to get them to hate him because whether they hated him or loved him, Izaya would still be on their minds.

And he knew he could never get them to love him.

After all, he tried so hard to get his parents to care for him and look where that got him.

Alone and broken. Hurt beyond repair.

All he wanted was to have someone's, anyone's, attention. And if he had to get them to hate him for him to get it, then so be it. He didn't care because it was the best he could do.

Izaya actually made a friend in his second year of Middle School. He was some weird, nerdy guy named Shinra, but hey, beggars can't be choosers as the saying goes. Of course, Izaya didn't tell Shinra about his life at home, and he never would. He would never tell anyone.

The reason Izaya liked Shinra was because he didn't hate Izaya like the others did. At least Izaya didn't think he did. Shinra was always giving a him crooked smile even when Izaya was being a complete jerk.

And that was why it made Izaya angry when that kid stabbed Shinra. He wanted to get back at him. And he did in his own way. He told Shonra to tell everyone that Izaya was the one who stabbed him and he took care of the rest.

He was greeted with an empty house as always when he got home. Yes, he had sisters, but ever since they were born his parents had taken an instant liking to them and took them everywhere they wanted to go when the had a break from work. Of course, they never took him with them and when they were at work, which was most of the time, they dumped Kururi and Mairu on him.

He didn't mind really. He liked his sisters. They kept him company and they loved him. It wasn't their fault that his parents neglected him. They just unintentionally gave his parents another reason why they could ignore his very existence.

His Middle School life was almost over and he was soon going to start High School at Raira Academy. Shinra was going to introduce him to a guy named Shizuo. He sounded interesting and Izaya prepared himself for a fun High School Debut.

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**I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review of what you thought and of what I could do better on.**


	3. The Twins

**Chapter 3 is up! I hope you guys didn't have to wait too long... I was being lazy and only just wrote this thing. This chapter is still kind of setting things up for the rest of this chapter so sorry if you guys find it kind of boring. I tried to make it interesting, but I worry that you guys will be bored to death. I hope that's not the case. Also, sorry that it's so short, but it's gradually getting longer! Happy reading and review if you can!**

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High School was about to start and Izaya could not wait to get away from that wretched house. He had had enough of it and it was obvious that his parents didn't want him there either. But that didn't really matter anyway, because he didn't stay for them. No, Izaya stayed for Kururi and Mairu.

He didn't know what would become of them if he wasn't around to watch them. For all he knew, his parents would focus all their hate on the twins after he left. So he stayed to be hated, so to speak. He wouldn't let anything happen to them.

While he was going into High School, his sisters were starting First Grade. He would be picking them up and dropping them off to school from now on. And he was happy to. It gave him more time with them and less time worrying.

"Mairu, Kururi, it's time to go!" Izaya called to his sisters from the hall to their room.

"Coming, Iza-Nii!" Mairu called back as she and her sister made their way out the door.

Mairu and Kururi each grabbed one of Izaya's hands and he walked out of the house with them.

"Girls, remember to behave. At least for the first day of school, okay?" Izaya asked his sisters as they started walking to the Elementary School.

"Don't worry, IzaIza, we'll be good," Kururi said quietly and Mairu gave Izaya the biggest smile possible.

"Yeah! We'll be good, we promise!" Mairu claimed with that silly smile that cause Izaya to doubt her words. She always smiled like that when she was lying. Well, at least he knew Kururi wouldn't start anything. It was usually Mairu who started it.

Izaya sighed and said, "Just don't do anything that will our parents involved." He had a solemn expression on his face and his sisters looked at him curiously.

They didn't know how their parents treated him. They were still young and didn't understand what Izaya was put through. They wondered why he wasn't allowed to go with them on trips or why he was never around when their mom and dad were. They tried asking him on several occasions but he never told them anything.

He would pat them on the head and say, 'It's okay, you don't have to worry about it,' and that's all they would get on the subject. He couldn't tell them and he never would. He didn't want to have his sisters worry about him.

Kururi tightened her little hands around Izaya's arm and brought him out of his thoughts. He looked at her and she gave him a small smile. "We'll be good," she repeated more firmly and Mairu nodded enthusiastically. Izaya laughed lightheartedly and smiled back at.

"You better be." Izaya ruffled both girls' hair, "Look, there's your school." Izaya said as they rounded a corner. The twins looked at held tighter to Izaya.

"I don't want to go. I want to stay with you!" Mairu pouted and started dragging her feet.

"Oh, come on!" Izaya said as he pulled her along, "It'll be fun. You'll make new friends!" This time Kururi started dragging he feet.

"Kururi! Not you too," Izaya said exasperated. It was getting hard to pull them. "I have to go to school just like you do! Tell you what, if you go to school, I'll take you to the park later."

Izaya smirked when he heard them squeal, "Really Iza-Nii?" Mairu asked excitedly as she and Kururi jumped up and down. He had won.

"Yes, really. Deal?" Izaya replied as he rolled his eyes and smiled gently at them.

"Deal!" Kururi and Mairu happily dragged Izaya through the front door of the school.

Izaya really loved his sisters,but what he didn't know was that slowly, without even meaning to, they would break his heart.


	4. A Familiar Face

**Animejessi here with chapter four! I hope you all like this one as much as the others you have seen so far. As you can see, and if you've been paying attention, the chapters have been getting longer each time I post. Hope that puts a smile on some of your faces. Read and review and enjoy!**

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Mairu and Kururi pulled Izaya into the school and waited for him to take then to their class.

"Iza-Nii, come on! Take us to class!" Mairu shouted happily to him.

"Oh? What's this now? Weren't you the one complaining about going to school just a little while ago? I wonder what happened." Izaya said with a smirk when he regained his balance.

"IzaIza promised to take us to the park." Kururi said quietly as she tugged on Izaya's sleeve, trying to get him to move. He complied.

He grabbed the small girls hand and went in the direction of their class, quietly muttering to himself. "If I had known that was all it took to get you to school, I would have said it earlier."

"What was that Iza-Nii?" Mairu grinned up at him.

"Nothing, nothing." Izaya sighed.

As they walked through the school, Izaya looked around at all the familiar objects and classrooms. He, too, had gone to this very Elementary School, just like his sisters. Only, no one came here with him. His parents didn't care enough.

He got himself up, made his own lunch, and walked here all by himself from day one. The only thing his parents did for him was pay for his education, and that was only so he wouldn't be home when they were. He didn't really understand why back then, but now that he was older and understood, he would not let his sisters go through the same things he went through.

Izaya was driven out of his thoughts by a voice directed at him. It was a teacher.

"Izaya! It's so good to see you again! You've grown up so much!" The woman said. If he recalled correctly, and he was sure he did, this woman was his teacher in the first grade.

"Ah, Hikaku-sensei, how've you been?" Izaya asked her this simply because it was polite, not because he actually cared. And the woman was going to be his sisters' teacher, might as well make a good impression.

"Oh, I'm fine dear. What brings you here? Shouldn't you be heading off to school?" Hikaku-sensei asked him, regarding his uniform carefully. She wouldn't recognize it, he had made it himself.

"Yes, but, you see, I have I drop off my sisters here first," he pulled their hands to bring them in front of him for the woman to see them, "They're just starting first grade. In your class actually."

Hikaku-sensei looked at the girls as they looked at he curiously and her eyes grew wide. "My, what gorgeous girls! They look just like you did!" She squealed as she kneeled down and took the girls' hand as Izaya release his hold on them.

Izaya smiled at this. He knew his sisters were beautiful and he was glad that someone other than him was telling them too.

"Yes, they are, aren't they." All three girls looked up at him. The twins with happiness an glee, Hikaku with something he couldn't quite place. Was it … relief?

Hikaku-sensei stood up, giving Izaya he most caring smile he had ever seen directed at him. One his parents should have given him and one he knew they never would.

"I'm so glad to see you smiling. You never smiled. Not even once. All throughout your time here you looked so sad. I was worried." Hikaku let go of Mairu's hand and held his with her right hand, "You were such a kind boy, but you isolated yourself and never smiled. I'm glad that has changed."

Izaya looked at the woman, shocked. He hadn't realized that anyone was paying that much attention to him, let alone this woman.

Slowly, he managed to put a broken smile on his face, hoping she wouldn't notice its falseness and said, "I've come to terms with a few things I couldn't accept before, but I'm fine now. No need to worry."

Izaya looked down at his sisters and saw the worried expression their little faces shouldn't have. They were too young to have to wear such a face, so Izaya kneeled down so that he was we level with them and put on a cheerful smile.

"I'll pick you up after school and ten we can go to the park, okay?" He asked the small girls.

Kururi let go of Hikaku-sensei's hand and hugged Izaya's neck, Mairu following suit.

Kururi whispered into his ear, "We'll be good. Don't be sad anymore." As Mairu whispered into his other ear, "We love you Iza-Nii. It's okay."

And they walked with Hikaku-sensei into the classroom.

Izaya looked after them and droppe the smile he was wearing. "I guess I can't fool them after all. Sometimes they're just to smart for their own good," Izaya stood up and started leaving the school to get to his own, "I suppose that they got that from me though."

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**Author's Note: I learned in Psychology class today that a child that is neglected for long periods of time, say like ten hours a day, can be seriously damaged mentally and psychologically. It really messes them up. They won't know how to treat people or realize that they are hurting them because they have never had that tender and gentle contact from their parents. They don't know what it's like and therefore are incapable being that way with others and they can get very violent so that they can feel some sort of connection with someone. I was thinking of putting something like that in there for Izaya because his parents are neglecting him in his story. Except he would be cruel with words and mind games in order to get that connection and of course he's kind to his sisters because he loves them and doesn't want them to like him. Tell me if you think I should add this in the story somewhere or not. I personally think it's a good idea. Also, Izaya would be awthis'll all this because he's a genus and whatnot. Okay, until next time!**


	5. The Hidden Pain Within

**For all those who were dying for the next chapter, fear not for here it is! I know, it took a little longer than last time, but hey, no ones perfect and at least I got it up, right? Just so you are prepared, this chapter might get a bit depressing, or not. It all really depends on what you guys think is depressing, so you better be prepared. This IS in the angst category after all. Okay, I'm going to stop blabbering now and let you read the story. Please read and Review and enjoy! **

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Izaya walked into his new classroom with a giant grin splitting his face. He knew he was late, but there really wasn't anything he could do about it. His sisters always came first after all.

"Orihara-san, I presume?" The teacher in the room asked him, annoyed, "You're late."

Izaya gave the man a smile that, if you have never met him before, you would have thought it was a kind and gentle smile. It wasn't and most of the students there knew it.

"Sorry, sensei. I had to do something first," Izaya spoke as he went to the empty sit in the back of the room. It just so happened to be right next to Shinra as well. Shinra waved as Izaya made his way toward him. He had that goofy grin on again.

The teacher started talking again, but Izaya tuned him out as he sat down and turned to face Shinra.

"So, where's this guy you want to introduce me to?" Izaya questioned him immediately. He had to be honest, he was curious about this Shizuo guy. Judging from what Shinra had told him, Shizuo was strong. Very strong. Strong enough to throw vending machines at people. And he apparently had an anger issue. That meant Izaya could mess with him easily. He could get on Shizuos nerves without even trying and who knows, maybe they could become friends.

Shinra's smile got bigger. He knew Izaya would ask about Shizuo first thing. "He's not in this class with us, but he has most of the same classes we have so you'll see a lot of him," Izaya raised his eyebrow at this, gesturing for Shinra to continue, "I'll introduce you guys after school today, how does that sound? And then after that, I'll tell you more about my precious Celty!"

'Great, Shinra's talking about THAT again,' Izaya thought with a sigh.

Izaya was about to answer, but then the teacher stepped in between them and hit Izaya on the head with a book. It hurt a lot more than it should have. Izaya had to wonder what the thing was made out of.

"Orihara-san, have you heard a thing I said?" The man looked at Izaya angrily as Izaya rubbed his aching head, "You come here late on your first day and have the guts to ignore me? You…"

Izaya quickly interrupted the man, "All you were saying, Takayama-sensei, was your name, what we would be learning in your class, and what you expected of us. See, I was listening to you. I just didn't think it was important enough to have my full attention."

Izaya smirked when he saw the utterly shocked expression on Takayama's face. He opened his mouth a few times but nothing came out. In the end he just decided to go to the front of the room and pretend nothing happened. Most of the students just stayed silent whereas some of the others snickered.

Over the years, Izaya had developed the talent of hearing what was being said without really listening. It gave him an advantage at times like these and it also helped in learning everything there was to know about his lovely humans.

The rest of the day went on without any further incidents, well, none that had to be mentioned anyway. It was almost time for he final bell to ring and Izaya had already gathered a group of people to attack Shizuo after school. He wanted to test out his strength, see if Shinra was just over exaggerating about Shizuo. Not that Shinra would do that, but it would be a good experiment anyway.

Izaya watched from afar as the group of boys rushed Shizuo at the back of the school. Unsurprisingly, Shizuo best them all effortlessly. Just like Shinra had said he would.

As soon as the last guy was down, Izaya came out of his hiding place next to Shinra and clapped his hands with a truly pleased smirk.

Shizuo turned towards Izaya and glared hard as Izaya spoke, "You are even more entertaining than I first thought. We could make a great team."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shizuo tried to punch him, saying, "You make me mad. I hate you."

Izaya dodged the punch and smiled manically outwardly. On the inside, however, Izaya felt something crack. Shizuo had just met him and already he said he hated him. Just like his parents.

Just like his parents.

They also hated Izaya without ever giving him a chance. And to hear someone he just met do the same thing, it hurt him more than he thought possible. It made him remember just how broken he really was without his mask hiding it all. He remembered all the pain he had been pushing down, trying to forget, or at least numb it a bit. He realized just how far gone in loneliness he was.

But he hid it all with that smile of his and slashed his switch-blade across Shizuo's chest. He taunted him more and laughed and laughed because it was the closest thing he could get to crying at the time. He ran as Shizuo chased him, and got Shizuo to be hit by a car, and then he went to pick up his sisters.

He brought them home and as soon as he stepped foot into his house, he sat on the floor and let all the pain out, simply because he couldn't hold it in any longer.

Kururi and Mairu had no idea what was going on, but they knew that Izaya was hurting so they did the only thing they knew how in this kind of situation. Kururi wrapped her small arms around Izaya from behind and put her head on his back. Mairu sat on the floor next to him and leaned on one of his crossed legs and looked up at him with her big eyes and her mouth open in wonder.

Quietly she said, "Iza-Nii, why are you sad?" And he let all the tears spill out harder from his sad, crimson eyes.

That day, Izaya decided that he hated Shizuo, all because Shizuo hated him first.


	6. Going to the Park Part 1

**Here's the next chapter of Trapped. I hope you guys are liking this and that it's not getting boring. If it is, please tell me an I will try to make it more enjoyable. Any comments, concerns, or feedback are welcome as long as they are not flames. Well, I hope you enjoy and review.**

Weeks passed and fighting with Shizuo became a daily routine. He would wake up, make breakfast and lunch for his sisters, take them to school, and as soon as he stepped inside his own school, the fun began.

Izaya had managed to push the overwhelming pain back down where he wanted it and put up that annoying smirk again. He really had to thank his sisters. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have been able to put himself back together as quickly as he did. They tried their very best to cheer him up and they didn't complain once about not being able to go to the park. Not even now, and it's been a few weeks. That's why Izaya decided he would take them to the park right after school today, no matter what.

As soon as the bell rang, signifying the end of the school day, Izaya rushed out of the building, avoiding everyone. When he made it to the school entrance, he saw Shizuo and completely ignored him. He didn't taunt or tease him in any way. And Shizuo noticed this as Izaya hurriedly walked past him.

'Weird,' Shizuo thought and started following him. He was curious as to what was so important to the flea that he would pretend not to see Shizuo.

Izaya made his way to Kururi and Mairu's school, unbeknownst to him that he was being followed. When he got there, he waited at the gate for his sisters to come out.

Shizuo looked at Izaya curiously from a ways back, wondering what in the world Izaya would be doing at an Elementary School. That question, however, vanished from his head as soon as he saw two lookalike brats started clinging onto each of his arms. They both wore hoodies with car ears; the one with braids wore a pink hoodie and the one with short hair wore a black one.

'Ah, so the flea had sisters,' Shizuo thought as continued to watch the trio.

As soon as his sisters came running towards him at top speed, Izaya knew something was wrong. He confirmed it when he saw Kururi with her hood up and tears running down her small face. She looked up at him with big, teary eyes and lifted her arms in the air. She wanted to be picked up. As soon as Izaya picked Kururi up, she hide her face in his shoulder and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. On the other side of him, Mairu was pulling on his shirt to be picked up too, but Izaya just put his hand on the top of her head and looked at Kururi again.

"Kururi, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Izaya asked softly.

Kururi just shook her head in response. Izaya turned to his more talkative sister for an answer. She would wouldn't answer him either and looked down at her feet, still clinging to Izaya's shirt.

Izaya sighed, "How 'bout we go to the park. Would you like that?"

Kururi lifted her head and nodded with a slight smile. Mairu, on the other hand, started jumping up and down excitedly while squealing.

"Really, Iza-Nii? We're going to the park?" When he nodded, Mairu squealed again and smiled brightly, "Did you bring snacks?" Both girls looked at him expectantly.

Izaya laughed and grabbed Mairu's hand, "No, but we can get ice cream at the park."

Kururi pulled Izaya's gently to get his attention and asked, "Chocolate, Iza-Nii?"

Izaya noticed that Kururi was no longer crying and smiled, "Of course, I'll get you chocolate." He headed in the direction of the park, pulling Mairu along behind him.

To say Shizuo was shocked would be an understatement. Shizuo was stunned beyond belief. He would have never thought Izaya could be nice to anyone. Sure, they were his sisters, but with someone as malicious as Izaya, you'd think his heart was made of ice.

And to think that Izaya could smile without looking evil! It was unbelieved, almost inconceivable for Shizuo. What was the world coming to?

There's no way Izaya could be like any normal person, could there? He's made it perfectly clear that he loved all humans the same amount, so what about his sisters? Did he love them like any other human or was there something more? Shizuo went with the 'something more' choice. After all, Izaya didn't treat 'his humans' that nicely.

And the fact that Izaya hadn't noticed that Shizuo was there was a surprise too. Normally, he could tell right away when someone was following him. He'd better be able to with all the people he's angered. You never know who's goon to stab you in the back.

Once Shizuo came out of his shock and inner conflict, he decided to continue following Izaya. Maybe it could help him figure Izaya out. To know what he's thinking and find out why he's so psychopathic. Probably not, but you never know.

Shizuo finally caught up enough to Izaya to actually see him. He saw Izaya's mouth move when he turned to face the girl that was now dubbed Mairu, so Shizuo moved closer until he could here what they were saying.

"Iza-Nii, when do you think daddy and mommy are going to be back?" Mairu questioned and Shizuo could almost swear he saw Izaya stiffen when she asked that.

Izaya looked straight forward before answering her, "I don't know, Mairu. Maybe never."

'Izaya's parents are away? That explains a lot,' Shizuo thought absentmindedly.

Shizuo heard the girl Izaya was carrying, Kururi?, say, "You don't want them to come back do you?"

Izaya stopped suddenly and Mairu tripped over her feet. Shizuo had to stop himself from falling over his own feet as well.

Without turning toward her Izaya quietly asked, "Why would you think that, Kururi?"

Kururi looked down nervously and bit her lip slightly, "Because you're never around when they're here. You always stay in your room and you don't come out," she looked back up at him to see a pained expression on Izaya's face and she continued, "It's like you hate them." Both of the girls looked at Izaya, waiting for his answer. They didn't want Izaya to hate their parents. Both Kururi and Mairu missed them a lot and didn't like that Izaya didn't get along with them.

'Well, this is interesting. I guess I will get answers, after all,' Shizuo thought, glad that he decided to follow them.

Izaya's face turned expressionless and he spoke with a detached voice, "I'm not the one who's doing the hating."

Izaya refused to talk about it the rest of the way to the park and the twins tried to understand what he had said. Shizuo was also left wondering what Izaya had meant.


	7. Going to the Park Part 2

**Chapter Seven is finally up! I'm so sorry for the long wait. My sister came into town and it was Halloween (yeah, I know that not a good excuse) and I was busy. But! This chapter is by far the longest chapter I've posted so far. Please enjoy the reading and review!**

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By the time they reached the park, Izaya was smiling again and his sisters were chattering nonstop. It seemed as though they had forgotten the previous feeling of melancholy they had been surrounded by earlier. Shizuo, however, had not.

He was still thinking about what Izaya had said.

"'I'm not the one who's doing the hating,' what could he have meant by that?" Shizuo muttered to himself.

He watched as Izaya and the twins walked toward the ice cream stand. Izaya put Kururi down and went for his wallet. Shizuo found this strange. He would have thought Izaya would talk his way out of paying by threatening or black mailing the person. Not willingly give them money. He must really care for his sisters for Izaya of all people to use his money. Then again, Shizuo didn't really know him that well, so maybe Izaya always pays for things… oh well, it doesn't really matter anyway.

"Kururi wants chocolate, Mairu what kind do you want," Izaya asks the girl as she glares at the ice cream, trying to decide what kind she wants.

"Hmm… I want the orange one Iza-Nii!" Mairu shouts excitedly and grabs Kururi hands while twirling, making both girls giggle.

"Okay, okay calm down," Izaya gives the man the money and takes the ice cream from him, "You have to sit down on the bench before I give this to you."

Both girls stop twirling abruptly and stared at Izaya with horrified expression, "IzaIza, we don't need to sit down. We won't spill!" Kururi complained and Mairu nodded desperately.

Izaya gave them a stern look until they relented and sat on the bench. The pouty looks on their faces almost maybe Shizuo laugh, but he held it in for fear of Izaya spotting him. Shizuo couldn't let Izaya see him yet, not until he got some answers.

As soon as the girls sat down, Izaya handed them their ice cream and sat between them. Kururi and Mairu were talking about something Izaya didn't quite understand before he interrupted them.

"Kururi, I want you to tell me why you were crying now," as soon as the words left Izaya's lips, all the talking stopped. Izaya looked at Mairu and Kururi to see both of their heads down.

Izaya sighed, "You know you can tell me anything. It's okay."

Mairu bite her lip before quietly saying, "The other kids were being mean to Kururi."

Izaya looked at Mairu, slightly shocked and then looked down at his lap, "Bullies, huh?" He stayed quiet for a bit before looking up again and he turned to face Kururi, "I'll just have to teach you girls how to take care of bullies now, won't I?"

The twins looked at Izaya's smirking face and Kururi asked, "you know how to get rid of bullies?"

"Of course I do!" Izaya stated loudly with a mischievous glint in his eyes. And so started the lessons on getting rid of bullies. Of course, way Izaya was telling them was much to violent for the public to know.

Shizuo, who was watching from a far, grew very worried for the young girls sanity and the safety of the poor people who would decide to bully them later in the future. Shizuo had to wonder where Izaya learned this stuff in the first place.

Despite the gruesome and somewhat disturbing topic they were discussing, Izaya, Kururi, and Mairu looked really happy. Seeing them sitting on the bench and smiling like that reminded Shizuo of a memory from when he was younger.

He and his brother, Kasuka, went to a park one time when their parents were away. They didn't really have much to do so they sat on a bench. Kasuka brought a book and started to read that as soon as they sat down, and Shizuo sat on the back of the bench with his feet on the seat and a bottle of milk. Shizuo remembered there being another boy around his age sitting on the bench next to his.

The boy had a little girl in a blue dress drinking from a sippy-cup, sitting next to him and another girl wearing the same thing play on the back of the bench. On the other side of the boy was a bag with a sippy-cup for the other girls and other things like a coat or blanket.

From the expression in the boy's face, Shizuo could tell he did this a lot and he guessed that their parents weren't home most of the time. He wondered why his parents would be gone so much with two three year old girls and a twelve year old boy waiting at home for them. It wasn't fair to the boy.

As Shizuo looked at the boy, he noticed how empty his eyes looked. How dead they were. They almost held no emotion in them at all, except for the pain they carried.

With eyes blank of everything, it shocked Shizuo to see tears falling so suddenly from them. And as soon as they fell, the boy wiped them away as if they were never there and he and his sisters vanished.

Shizuo realized now that that boy was Izaya. He didn't know how he knew this, but he did. And it just confused him more. How could that boy turn into, well, this. And why was Izaya so sad that day? Was he still sad?

Shizuo shook his head vigorously, banishing the thought. There was no way. Izaya was heartless and he didn't care if he hurt others. He deserved to be miserable and sad. He was a coward.

At some point while Shizuo was thinking, Izaya had finished his discussion (evil plans) with his sisters and they had run off. Izaya sat on the bench and watched as they played. As Izaya sat there, Shizou noticed his eyes glaze over and some of the emptiness from Shizuo's memory returned.

Izaya was brought out of his trance when he heard Mairu crying. He looked over at the girls and saw the ice cream on the ground and on their hoodies. Izaya got up off the bench on knelt next to Mairu.

He started wiping the tears from her eyes and Mairu noticed Izaya was there while Kururi stared at the fallen ice cream cones, "Mairu, don't cry, it's just ice cream," Izaya pulled out some money and said, "I'll buy you a new one, so stop-"

Izaya cut off what he was saying as he noticed Shizuo a few feet in front of them. He stared at him a long while and Shizuo was getting uncomfortable. He hadn't expected Izaya to spot him yet and now he didn't know what to do. So he just stared back at Izaya.

Izaya knew by the way Shizuo was so relaxed that he had been there for a while. He may have even been following him, but what Izaya wanted to know was why. Why was Shizuo just standing there, watching? Shizuo wasn't attacking him. Shizuo wasn't even glaring at him and that puzzled Izaya. He wanted to know why Shizuo was so calm. It unnerved him.

Not taking his eyes away from Shizuo, Izaya addressed the twins, "Kururi, Mairu, take this and go buy yourselves some ice cream."

"But what about our hoodies?" Mairu started to complain, but Kururi held her hand and pulled her away from Izaya to do as he said while eyeing Shizuo curiously.

As soon as they left, Izaya stood up and walked toward Shizuo. Shizuo didn't know what to do or even what to think. He had never seen Izaya face so void of emotion. There was always a never ending smirk on his face. And to see him now, without a smile, kind of scared Shizuo.

"Shizu-chan, what are you doing here?" Izaya asked without expression. He was standing in front of Shizuo now.

"I was curious, is all," Shizuo mumbled loud enough for Izaya to hear.

Izaya glared at Shizuo before hissing out, "So you followed me? How long?"

Shizuo saw a somewhat familiar look on Izaya's face and relaxed a bit, "Since school ended. I thought you were up to something, so I followed you."

Izaya widened his eyes slightly and narrowed them again, "Well, Shizuo, as you can see, I am not up to anything. Unless, of course, you see some ulterior motive to taking my sisters to the park."

Shizuo flinched at the harsh words coming from Izaya and at the use of his name. This would have to be the first time he has ever used Shizuo's given name.

"No, there's nothing wrong with that," Shizuo said after he recovered from slight shock of Izaya's words, "I misjudged you, I guess."

"Yes, you did," Izaya turned away from Shizuo and called for his sisters, he then turned and smirked at Shizuo, "Goodbye, Shizu-chan."

Izaya left before Shizuo could say anything with each of his sisters' hands in his. Shizuo wondered whether Izaya was angry or if he was just pretending. Shizuo had a lot more questions now than he had answers and it annoyed him to no end.


	8. Anger and Fear

**Sorry for the late update, but here it is! It is about two hundred words longer then the last chapter not including the stupid author's notes that I put in each chapter, so that should make you a little happy. Maybe not extremely, but a little bit, right. I hope you enjoy the chapter and review on your way out!**

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As Izaya walked home, he was deep in thought of the days events. 'Shizuo was following me since I left school? Does that mean he heard everything? Does he know about my parents' absence?'

Izaya stopped walking and his sisters turned to look at him. 'How could he follow me?! He doesn't have any right and what I do is my own business, not his! What is wrong with him?'

"IzaIza, what's wrong? Why did you stop?" Kururi tugged on his hand as Mairu followed suit. Ignoring the question from Kururi, Izaya continued to walk home. The twins looked at each other from behind Izaya in a silent conversation.

As soon as they got home, the girls went to change their stained hoodies and Izaya went to cooking them dinner. He always made dinner, ever since he was old enough to figure out how to do it. No one made dinner for him and, of course, there was no one there to teach him how to make it himself. So, the only thing he could do was teach himself.

He had gotten pretty good at it too. He could make anything his sisters wanted and he made them well. But even so, that didn't mean he liked cooking. In fact, he hated it. Cooking reminded him of everything he didn't have and probably never would. Still, his sisters needed to eat, so cook he must.

Kururi and Mairu had changed out of their hoodies and waltzed into the kitchen. They decided that they would help their Nii-chan cook dinner and went straight to the aprons. Izaya watched them curiously as they pulled out the aprons with the dog and cat pockets and put them. Kururi managed to get hers on, but Mairu was having trouble with the bow. Smiling, Izaya knelt behind her and tied it for her.

"Are you two going to help me or make a mess?" Izaya questioned playfully, which caused Mairu to pout and turn to face him.

"We're helping, of course! Why else would we be here?" Mairu pit her hands on her hips and stuck her bottom lip out, "We do have better things to do you know."

Izaya raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? And is that playing with your dolls?"

Mairu glared, causing Izaya to laugh and ruffle Mairu's hair. He saw Kururi bring out mixing bowls an spoons, holding them out to him with a small smile and sparkling eyes. He smiled gently at her and got to work with the twins 'helping' him as well as they could.

As they cooked Izaya thought absentmindedly, 'Then again, when it's like this, cooking isn't so bad.'

It was the next day and Izaya was not looking forward to going to school. Shizuo would be there and Izaya didn't feel like answering the questions he knew Shizuo would ask. After waking the twins up, feeding them breakfast, and braiding Mairu's hair (yes, Izaya can braid), Izaya prepared himself for a very long day.

Just as Izaya had expected, as soon as walked on to school property, there Shizuo was. Sighing, Izaya looked away from Shizuo and ignored him as Shizuo followed him. Shizuo followed him all the way to his first class which, fortunately, Shizuo was not apart of. Izaya sat at his desk and persistently continued to ignore Shizuo's very existence.

Shinra noticed this and wondered what was going on. It was unusual for Izaya to ignore Shizuo, especially since he's the one who usually engages in them arguments and fights. Shinra tried asking Izaya about it, but Izaya ignored Shinra as well.

By this time, Shizuo realized that he really had made Izaya angry. Or at the very least, he had made him mad. Even still, Shizuo found it hard to believe that Izaya would ignore him like this. If anything, he thought that Izaya would annoy him more than he already did, not pretend that he wasn't there.

After his first class ended, Shizuo headed toward the class Izaya just had. If he was lucky, Izaya would still be there and Shizuo could ask Izaya about yesterday. There were many things said that Shizuo didn't understand and he wanted answers.

Before Shizuo got any farther, Shinra stopped him, "Shizuo, can I talk to you for a bit?"

Shizuo looked past Shinra into the classroom Shinra had just left. Shinra, knowing what Shizuo was thinking said, "He's not in there, Shizuo. He left as soon as the bell rang," Shinra walked closer to Shizuo, "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Shizuo looked back at Shinra and nodded, "What do you want I know, then?"

Giving a small smile, Shinra spoke, "I want to know what's wrong with Izaya. Izaya was ignoring you this morning, I asked him about it, but he didn't give me an answer and he hasn't talked all day," Shinra looked sternly at Shizuo, "All day, Shizuo. Izaya is always talking. I've never seen him this quiet before. Not since I've met him. What happened Shizuo?"

Shizuo could see how worried Shinra was about Izaya. It kind of angered him how much Shinra cared about the flea. He didn't deserve to be cared for by anyone, let alone a good person like Shinra. He was about to shout at Shinra, but then Shizuo thought about what he had just said. Something about Izaya never being so quiet before and that he hasn't talked all day... Wait, what?!

"Are you saying that he hasn't said a thing all day? Is that even possible for him?" Shizuo almost yelled and it caused people to look at them and slowly move away. They didn't want to be around if Shizuo was going to throw things.

Shinra sighed and slowly said, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying, and since I haven't heard a word come out of his mouth yet, I'm guessing that it is, in fact, possible," Shinra looked at Shizuo and demanded, "Tell me what happened. I know you know, Shizuo."

Shizuo looked down and glared awhile before answering, "Well, I think it might be because I was following him the other day and when he found out, he was pretty mad..."

"You followed him?! And he didn't notice?" Shinra shouted. Shizuo had to plug his ears and he winced in slight pain.

"Yeah and tone it down!" Shizuo hissed at Shinra and he covered his mouth, suddenly embarrassed by his ouburst, "Izaya was a little distracted, I guess. Anyway, while I was following him, he said something interesting."

Shinra was intrigued, "Interesting? How?"

Shizuo scratched his head and said, "I don't know! I'm going to ask him some questions, that's why you saw us together earlier. I was trying to get answers."

The bell signaling the start of the next class sounded and Shinra turned to head to class, "Come on, we're going to be late. We can discuss this later, and, with any luck, we might be able to get some answers out of Izaya."

Shizuo smiled then. He would like that and if he could beat Izaya up in the process, that would just be a bonus for him.

Izaya knew right when they walked through the door that Shizuo and Shinra had been talking about him. He could see it in the way the eyed him when they thought he wasn't looking. But he was. Izaya was always looking.

He had a pretty good idea of what they were talking about, too. It probably had something to do with yesterday, though Izaya was sure Shizuo hadn't told Shinra anything definite. He didn't have that good a memory and Izaya didn't think he smart enough to tell him anyway. Izaya was 95% sure that all Shizuo said was that he wanted to question him or that he was going to get answers. It seemed like someting he'd say, at least.

Time went by impossibly slow. Izaya couldn't wait until the bell rang and he could get out of here. He still hadn't talked to Shinra that day, and he really didn't feel like going through the confrontation he knew Shinra and Shizuo were planning. So, as soon as the bell rang, Izaya was up out of his seat and almost through the door. But, unfortunately for him, Shizuo got there first. Seeing the way Shizuo was angrily looking at Izaya, everyone else vacated the room before they could get caught in the crossfire of whatever was going to happen.

Looking off to the side of the room, Izaya asked, "What do you want, Shizu-chan?"

"You know exactly what I want. I want to know what was up with yesterday. What you meant by what you were to your sisters." Shizuo growled out and seeing Izaya's bored and carefree face made Shizuo want to bash it in.

Looking into Shizuo's eyes, Izaya slowly said, "I believe that was a private conversation between siblings and there is no way I am going to explain it to you."

Shizuo fisted his hands tightly until blood came out of his palms. Shinra looked worriedly between Shizuo and Izaya; he wasn't sure what Shizuo was going to do, but he knew it wouldn't be good. Just as those words crossed Shinra's mind Shizuo grabbed Izaya and slung him over his shoulder.

"Hey! What are you doing, put me down!" Izaya yelled and he tried to get away from Shizuo.

Walking down the hall with Shinra close behind, also telling him to put Izaya down, Shizuo said, "If you're not going to talk, you might as well not be seen either."

Shizuo opened a janitor's closet and threw Izaya in. As soon as Izaya realized what Shizuo was going to do, he got off the floor and tried to get out. He was too late and Shizuo slammed the door in his face and locked him inside. Shinra said a word of complaint to Shizuo, but it fell on deaf ears as Shizuo walked away with a smirk. Shinra decided there was nothing he could do about it and followed Shizuo to their next class. They could hear Izaya banging on the door and screaming to be let out. They didn't notice the deep fear that was coming off of Izaya's voice and they didn't notice when the banging and scream abrutly became quieter, as if Izaya had suddenly become weak. Izaya curled up on the floor and banged slowly on the door, hoping that someone would let him out soon.


	9. Comfort

**Here is chapter 9. In the scene with Namie and Izaya, you can see it as friendship or whatever you want. I don't really care. I hope you like this chapter and review. Sorry for the late update.**

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It had been half an hour since Izaya had been locked in the closet, and still, no one had come to his rescue. He was starting to give up hope and he grew more and more scared as time went by. He wondered briefly how long he would be stuck in here and if he would ever be let out. He didn't know how much longer he could stay in here before having an all out panic attack. Sure, he had been in a dark closet for days on end during his childhood, but that only made it worse. Now, he couldn't even stand being in small, dark places for two minutes, let alone thirty. He was surprised he hadn't passed out from the lack of air he was feeling, yet.

Lucky for him, some girl had cleaning duty and was heading for the janitor's closet. That girl being Namie Yagiri. As she got closer to the closet, Namie heard soft banging noises coming from it. She tried opening the door, only to find it locked. Looking around, she found a key to the closet placed on a hook next to the door.

Taking hold of the key, Namie quickly opened the door and spotted a lithe form curled up on the floor. When she realized who the figure was, she was utterly shocked. She couldn't believe that it was Izaya Orihara who had been pounding on the door and Namie was even more surprised to see him shaking, rocking back and forth on the floor in the closet. She didn't think Izaya could be so vulnerable.

Cautiously, Namie lowered herself to Izaya's level and spoke to him, unconcerned, "Hey, are you okay?"

She waited for a while, but Izaya gave her no answer so she tried again, "Hello? Anyone there?"

Namie reached her hand out and put it on his shoulder. As soon as she did, Izaya turned to face her and hugged her.

When the door opened, Izaya couldn't move at all. He just sat there, trying to regain his composure unsuccessfully. He vaguely heard someone talk to him, but couldn't decipher what they were saying. Even if he could, he didn't think he would be able to answer them. He was still too consumed by fear to do anything. But, when they touched his shoulder, he could move again.

He somehow knew by their touch that they meant him no harm. That they were trying to help. So he did the only thing he could manage at the moment.

He hugged them.

He hugged them like they were his lifeline. And in a way, they were. It was only then that he realized who it was, Namie Yagiri. He was hugging the girl of ice, but he really couldn't bring himself care. Izaya was focused more on getting himself to breathe normally again and calming himself down. He would deal with the consequences later.

To his astonishment, and hers, Namie found herself hugging him back, also trying to calm him down. Izaya was confused, but welcomed the unfamiliar tenderness, as he was sure this would be the only time he would get it from anyone other than his sisters. She started whispering to him, saying that it was okay and he found that it helped push down his fears.

Namie wondered why she was hugging Izaya. She had heard the rumors going around about him and despised him greatly. Yet, here she was, finding herself hugging the guy and telling him everything was okay. She thought about it and supposed that it was because, at this moment, Izaya reminded her of her precious Seiji after he had a nightmare. Of course, Izaya was no where near the level of Seiji, but she couldn't help the thought.

Izaya was still shaking, but he had calmed his breathing down to where it was almost back to normal. Slowly he released his hold of Namie, making sure not to make eye contact, and stood up. He turned to face the exit and spotted Shizuo standing there. He had a very perplexed expression on his face, but Izaya ignored him completely and walked right past him, out the door.

It had been thirty minutes since he left Izaya in the closet, and Shizuo didn't feel like staying at school any longer. He had to let Izaya out of there sometime and he thought leaving him in there overnight was a bit cruel. Plus, the guy had sisters and judging from what he overheard the other day, no one to take care of them except Izaya.

So, out of begrudging kindness for Izaya's twin sisters, Shizuo decided to let him out now. He hadn't expected someone else to do it first. When he got into the hall he left Izaya in, he spotted a girl kneeling on the floor. On closer inspection, Shizuo noticed that she was being hugged by someone and hugging them in turn.

Realization hit, as Shizuo saw Izaya's raven hair pressed up against the girl's shoulder. He didn't know what to think and just stared at them with deep confusion. Then his ears picked up on the comforting whispers and he noticed that Izaya was shaking. Not only that, but he was breathing in short, heavy gasps and he was clutching tightly onto the back of the girl's shirt, like something terrible would happen if he let go.

Wait... What was going on? What was Izaya scared of? Was it... Was it the closet? Izaya was claustrophobic? That couldn't be it. He was too proud for that.

Shizuo watched as Izaya reluctantly let go of the girl and refused to met her eyes. He was still visibly shaking, but he stood up and prepared to leave the school. Shizuo and Izaya's eyes met for a brief second before Izaya looked away and rushed past him.

Shizuo just stood there until he saw the girl get up off her knees and she turned to face Shizuo. She looked at him blankly before saying, "Judging by the way he avoided you like the plague, I'm guessing you're the idiot who looked him in the closet."

Shizuo was too stunned to answer her and stared straight ahead. She continued, "I suggest you consider otherw people's circumstances and fears before acting so rashly. You may end up regretting it."

She walked away and left Shizuo to think about what she said.

Shizuo roughly scratched the back of his and and walked off, 'All this thinking is hurting my head.'

He met up with Shinra and they headed home together.

Not being able to keep it to himself, Shizuo asked, "Hey, Shinra, is Izaya claustrophobic?"

Shinra looked at Shiziu curiously and answered, "I don't really know. Why do you ask?"

Shizuo growled and responded, "You don't know? Haven't you been friends with the guy since Middle School or something?"

Shinra laughed, "Yeah, I have, but Izaya doesn't really talk about himself or share any personal information. He's very secretive."

Shizuo looked at him doubtfully, "So, you know nothing about him?"

"Not really," Shinra beamed up at him, "why did you ask if he was claustrophobic?"

Sighing, Shizuo answered, "After he was out of the room, he looked really shaken."

"And you left him in there for thirty minutes! How could you?" Shinra asked exasperatedly

Angry, Shizuo shouted, "It's not like you're any better! You left him there too, it's not all my fault!"

Shinra shook his head and looked forward, "I couldn't do anything about it. You're a lot stronger than me and I doubt you would let me get him out anyway."

Shinra and Shizuo walked the rest of the way home in silence, wondering why Izaya kept so many things hidden. Shinra and Shizuo realized just how little they really knew about Izaya.


	10. Nightmare

**Okay, guys, here is the long awaited chapter ten! Sorry it took so long, I was taking a break last week and watched an amazing show called Merlin! If you like the King Arthur story, I highly recommend you watched this series. It unbelievably funny. I swear I almost died from laughing to hard while watching it. And the best part? Merlin's not old!**

**Anyway, I'll let you read it now. I hope you enjoy and please leave a review!**

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Once Izaya left the school he went straight to his sisters' school to pick them up. As soon as he got there he saw Mairu's defiant face with her hands on her hips, "Iza-Nii! Where have you been? We were waiting!"

Izaya winced a bit at the volume of her voice and gave her a weak smile, crouching down to her eye level, "Sorry, Mairu, Kururi, I got held up with something."

Noticing his weary expression and slightly forced smile, Kururi put her hand on his cheek and softly asked, "Are you okay, IzaIza?"

Mairu instantly realized that something was wrong with Izaya and stared at him worriedly, "You don't look so good, Iza-Nii. Are you sick?"

Izaya just blinked in surprise at their worry and how well they could read him. He had been trying to hide it from them. Izaya smiled wider this time and stood up, "I'm fine, just tired. What do you say we go home and get some dinner? I'll make you anything you want."

The twins still looked at him worriedly, but nodded their heads and took ahold of each of his hands. As they walked home, Izaya was constantly talking and smiling so he wouldn't further worry his perceptive sisters. It worked and pretty soon they were giggling and laughing all the way home, not noticing how the smile slowly fell off his face and his eyes darkened a little.

After they had dinner, Izaya sent his sisters to bed and when he was sure they were asleep Izaya went into his room. When he shut the door, Izaya slid down the wood until he was sitting on the floor. Sitting there, he let silent tears fall down his pale cheeks until he fell asleep.

The next few days at school Izaya acted like nothing had happened. Like he had never been locked in a closet and showed his weakness to anyone, least of all Shizuo. He pretended like Shizuo had seen nothing and that it was his and Namie's own little secret. Namie's secret because he had trouble pretending she wasn't there every time she walked by and gave him that knowing look. He still couldn't believe that she was the one to find him in such a state and it angered him greatly. No one should have seen him like that, especially someone who would mock him for it.

Izaya was sure that Shizuo would also mock him, but Izaya never gave him the chance. Every time Shizuo looked like he was going to say something about it, Izaya would do something to irritate him into going on a rampage and this always had a way of making him forget.

After a while, Shizuo completely forgot about the whole thing and hadn't even thought about mentioning it for weeks now. Izaya was pleased that he had thwarted Shizuo's mind from the matter, but the real challenge was getting Shinra off his back. He already knew there was nothing he could do about Namie so he didn't even try, but Shinra was another matter. It wouldn't be easy though; Shinra could be stubborn when he wanted to.

As if reading his mind, Shinra popped up around the corner and headed towards Izaya. Sighing, Izaya prepared himself for Shinra's mindless chatter and put on his trademark smirk.

"Shinra! To what do I deserve the honor of your presence?" Izaya asked mockingly and gave him an exaggerated bow.

Shinra automatically noticed what Izaya was trying to do and cut straight to the point, "I want to talk you about what happened a few weeks ago, but you already know that, don't you, Izaya?"

Izaya faked confusion and put his hand on his chin, "Whatever could you mean? I don't recall anything happening."

You wouldn't think it just looking at him, but Shinra is actually quite strong. Especially when angry or deeply concerned for someone. Izaya was startled when Shinra grabbed his wrist and dragged him to a different part of the school. He was even more shocked when he tried to break free, but couldn't because of Shinra's vice-like grip.

All bystanders were stunned at the scene as well and Shizuo just stood there, wondering what in the world was happening. It wasn't until they were in an unused part of the school and Shinra towered over him that Izaya realized something...

Shinra was actually taller than him.

He never noticed it before. Shinra was always so docile-looking and smiled all the same, Izaya always assumed he was taller between the two. For whatever reason, this realization suddenly made Izaya feel small. And it scared him.

"Izaya, do not lie to me. I'm just trying to help you," Shinra said in a comforting voice as he had Izaya cornered. It was almost like he could sense the inner turmoil going on inside Izaya.

"And if I don't want your help?" Izaya managed to say in a calm voice.

Sighing, Shinra answered, "You may not want my help, Izaya, but I can see you need it. Whether you believe it or not, you need help and if not mine, at least someone else's."

Swallowing, Izaya pushed down the fear he was feeling. He didn't understand why he was so afraid. This was _Shinra_. Shinra would never hurt him, just like Izaya would never hurt Shinra. Shinra was Izaya's only friend and he didn't want to lose him.

Izaya smiled a small, but genuine smile. One Shinra has never seen before and it surprised him. Izaya softly spoke to Shinra, "I do have help, Shinra. My sisters are there for me, they're always there. You don't have to worry about me."

After saying this, Izaya stepped forward and waited for Shinra to move. When he did, Izaya smiled at him again and let. This smile was different, though. It wasn't genuine at all. It was forced and pained.

A stunned Shinra made his way back to his classroom to get his stuff, as school was now over, and bumped into Shizuo. Shinra fell to the ground and looked up at Shizuo, smiling, his trance broken, "Hello, Shizuo!"

Shizuo watched as Shinra got up off the floor and asked him, "What was up with that thing you were doing with Izaya? What did he say?"

Confused, Shinra just blinked up at Shizuo before smiling wide and saying, "I just learned something new about Izaya."

As Shinra walked off, he thought, 'Izaya really does care about his sisters. I hope it can stay like that forever.'

When Izaya made it to Kururi and Mairu's school, they were no where to be found. Izaya asked the teachers about and they told him that there already went home. Confusion entered Izaya's mind as he thought about why his sisters would go home without him.

He thought about this all throughout his walk home, when he finally approached the front door. Opening it, Izaya was filled with a sense of deep dread and fear as he saw his parents inside his, their, house. As soon as his sisters spotted him, they're faces beamed and they came running.

"Iza-Nii!-"

"IzaIza!-"

"Mom and Dad are home!" They said in unison.

Izaya felt his heart drop deep into his stomach and he hoped against hope that this was all just a bad dream. It was all the more harder to pretend as his parents turned to look at him with uncaring, heartless eyes.

After a few seconds, Izaya managed to squeeze out a smile and a polite, "Welcome back, Mom, Dad."

And then, the longer his parents stayed, the more he felt as though his heart was shattering as they slowly poisoned his dear little sisters.


	11. Greetings from the Parents

**Sorry folks, put accidentally put this chapter up on my other story.**

**Sorry for the long wait! But this is by far the longest chapter I have ever written so that should make you at least a little happy. This chapter is kind of angsty and sadly has no Shizuo in it, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Read, review, and have fun reading the 11th chapter of Trapped!**

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The last thing Izaya wanted was to see his parents. His father, Shirou, and his mother, Kyouko, being here was his darkest nightmare come true. He just knew that with them there, his life would become that much worse. He could see it in their face. They were going to make his life miserable. Or at least, more miserable than it already was.

But at the moment, Izaya wasn't worried about himself. He was worried for his sisters. He knew that they would destroy them and turn the only thing keeping him going against him. After all, these were the people that had corrupted him beyond repair. They neglected him for the 16 years he's been alive and he knew how damaging that was for a child. It really messed him up and made him the person he is today.

A cold, heartless, manipulative, psychopath.

It wasn't even his fault. His parents had turned him into a monster.

Their staring unnerved him. He couldn't tell what they were thinking and they hadn't said a word to him since he walked into the house. Kururi and Mairu looked curiously between their parents and Izaya, noticing the tension, but not quite understanding it. As Mairu was about to open her mouth and question her parents, her mother spoke up.

"Kururi, take Mairu to your room and play with the toys we brought you. We need to speak to... Izaya... alone," the girls noticed the spite in their mother's voice when she said Izaya's name and they felt a deep worry built up in the pit of their stomach.

Slowly, Kururi went and grabbed Mairu's hand and led her upstairs to their room. As they walked, both girls looked at Izaya with concern and watery eyes. He smiled at them warmly, nodding for them to continue on to their room. As soon as the twins were out of sight, Izaya's parents faces hardened and they glared icily at Izaya.

Shirou, walked up to Izaya in a mad rush and struck him square in the jaw. He collapsed onto the floor and held his assaulted jaw in stunned shock. His father had never hit him before. He had never even so much as laid a finger on him, he hadn't cared enough to. Neglecting him was enough before, so why did he choose to hit him now? Fear enveloped Izaya's entire body and he realized that things were going to be a lot worse than they ever have been.

Izaya looked up at his father when he began to speak, "How _dare _you let your sisters wait for you! You should be outside _waiting_ for them as soon as you get your useless self out of school."

Izaya's eyes widened with uncontainable fear as his father screamed at him for the first time ever. He was afraid of what Shirou could do to him.

"But I was only a few minutes late," Izaya managed to choke out quietly.

"In those few minutes, my darling babies could have been hurt or wounded!" This time it was his mother, Kyouko, who spoke, but with no less malice than Shirou.

Izaya couldn't believe what was happening. For the first time in his life his parents were actually talking to him, but now he wasn't so sure that was a good thing. And for whatever reason, his parents seemed very angry with him for something that's not even a big deal. His sisters were fine and they never seemed to care before. Granted, they were never home before either.

"Well, aren't you going to answer me?" He heard Kyouko say and before he could utter a single word, Izaya felt a sharp pain in his side.

His father had kicked him.

Before Izaya had time to register what was happening, Shirou kicked him a second time. And a third. And a fourth. Shirou just kept kicking him over and over again.

Izaya didn't know when his father stopped kicking him or when both he and his mother left the room. All he could feel and remember was the pain all over his body. It hurt him move. It hurt him to breathe. It even hurt him to think. The only thing he could do was lie there and wait for the pain to subside. When it did, Izaya carefully picked himself off the floor and limped to his room. He didn't bother changing into his pajamas, instead, he just laid on his bed and let sleep take him.

Kururi and Mairu had heard the whole thing. They had even witnessed some of it, not going all the way upstairs when they were told too, but as soon as their father's fist connected with Izaya's face, they hurried into their rooms and started crying. They now understood why their Iza-Nii didn't want their parents to come home. It was because they hurt him and the twins didn't like that one bit. They couldn't stand to see him in so much pain. What they didn't know was that they were going to cause Izaya the worst kind of pain within the span of the next couple of weeks, without even realizing it.

When morning came, Izaya felt sore everywhere and he was still in a fair amount of pain. Every move sent a stinging sensation throughout his body. Izaya dreaded getting out of bed, but he had school and he didn't want to be around his parents any longer than he had to.

Izaya sat up a slung his legs over the edge of his bed, wincing as he did so. He sat there for a minute and slowly stood up. As he was changing into a clean set of clothes, Izaya caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. It was worse than he thought.

His entire chest was covered in dark black and blue bruises with little space to show his usually pearl, white skin. He had cuts all over his arms from where he tried to shield himself from the unrelenting blows. His jaw was swollen and also started to turn into that ugly blue color. All in all, Izaya's body was completely battered.

'This is going to be hard to cover up,' Izaya thought as he pulled his shirt over his head and went into the bathroom.

Looking around, Izaya found some coverup for his jaw and started to apply it. Izaya was glad that he kept this stuff handy, otherwise it would have been impossible to hide the bruises for everyone, especially Shinra. He would start asking unwanted questions and try to force the answers out of him. He wouldn't be successful, but Izaya wanted to avoid the inconvenient encounter.

Izaya headed down stairs after getting ready and made his way to the door. He didn't bother getting breakfast because he knew his parents would be in the kitchen and he didn't feel like having a repeat of yesterday. Thinking about his sisters did give him pause, but he figured that his parents would take care of them. They actually liked the twins after all.

Izaya had never been as happy to see the school as he was at this very moment. Right now, school was a paradise. Izaya rushed inside the school as fast as his hurt body could carry him and put on a giant grin on his face. He was there pretty early so there wasn't very many people around, but that was okay with Izaya. In fact, he was glad for it. No people meant more time to adjust to his current handicap and make his act as believable as possible. He, however, had not accounted for the presence of one Namie Yagiri.

He stopped dead in his tracks as she walked on his direction. And when she noticed he was there, she gave him that same knowing look he had been expecting, but instead of walking past him like she normally did, Namie stopped.

He studied her as she looked at him and suddenly she reached her hand up to touch his face. He flinched away, but she placed her hand on his cheek anyway and asked him in an apathetic voice, "What happened to you face?"

Reeling back with bulging eyes, he placed his own hand on his face, saying, "I'm fine."

Namie quirked an eyebrow at him, "I didn't ask if you were alright. I asked what happened."

Izaya blinked at her blunt response and slowly regained his composure. He removed his hand from his face and gave he sneered at her, "Nothing happened and there's absolutely nothing wrong with my face either. It's perfect as always."

Izaya was back to his taunting ways and avoided answering Namie's question truthfully. He waved at her and turned to walk away, but before he could get any farther Namie grabbed his wrist, causing him to wince.

"Nothing happened, really? Then what is this," Namie had noticed Izaya wince and used that to her advantage by pulling his sleeve up, revealing blue and black bruises.

Izaya immediately snatched his arm back and glared at her, "It's none of your business," Izaya hissed threateningly.

"Hey, what are you two talking about," a voice from behind Izaya called. He recognized it to be Shinra.

Izaya promptly put on a smile and turned to face the boy, "Nothing, we were done here. Let's get to class!"

Izaya grabbed Shinra's arm and pulled him toward their class. As he did so, Izaya looked back at Namie and noticed that she was still looking at him. This time with a little more emotion than before. Izaya just stuck his tongue out at her before turning back to into front of him.

When they made it to the classroom, Shinra looked at Izaya questioningly, "What was that about?"

Izaya smiled and asked, "What do you mean? We had to head to class."

Shinra glared slightly at Izaya, saying, "No, you looked like you were trying to hide something or at least get me away from that girl."

Izaya's smile faltered a bit, but he did not relent, "Of course I wasn't. I wouldn't do something like that. You know me Shinra."

"Yes, Izaya, I do. Which is exactly how I know that you're lying again," Shinra gave Izaya a hard look, "Remember what happened yesterday when you tried to lie to me?"

Izaya dropped his smile completely this time. His face became an emotionless mask and he calmly said, "Do not threaten me Shinra. This does not concern you and you should stay out of it. If I want you involved I will tell you, but not before." With that Izaya walked angrily to his desk and sat down.

Shinra watched him as he went and noticed that Izaya had a slight limp and wasn't as stable on his feet as usual. With sad eyes, Shinra sat down in his own seat, 'But Izaya, it might be too late when you finally decide to let me in.' He looked back at Izaya. 'I may need to get Shizuo's help on this one.'


	12. Unanswered Questions

**I hope this chapter is as interesting as the last one was. This chapter is mostly in Shinra's and/or Namie's point of view with a little bit of Izaya's and Shizuo's in there too. I've be spinning ideas through my head all week and this is what I've come up with. for those of you wondering why it's taking so long for the updates, I've decided to update biweekly. I may update sooner sometimes, but it makes it easier on me so sorry about that. Please read, review, and enjoy this chapter!**

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Namie wasn't sure why, but when she saw the bruises on Izaya's jaw and arm, she began to worry for him. When he pulled away and tried to hide it, the worry turned into anger. Anger at his stubbornness and her want to help him. It infuriated her that when she tried to help him, all she got in return was Izaya sticking his tongue at her. Namie would find a way to get back at him. First, she would have to find that glasses faced friend of his.

Shinra could practically see the anger seething off of Izaya. Whenever Shinra tried to talk to Izaya, he would just glare and ignore everything Shinra was telling him. He had been doing that for two classes now. What he said must have really made Izaya mad. Shinra should really learn to keep his mouth shut. Yeah, he was just trying to help the guy, but he should know by now what he can and cannot say to Izaya directly.

Izaya must have noticed Shinra staring because in the next moment something smacked him right in the face. Shinra was extremely shocked. Izaya had never acted so immaturely as to throw something at him before. This in turn made Shinra even more curious about what Izaya and that girl were talking about. What could be so important that Izaya would try to hide it from him? Shinra decided to make it his goal to locate this mystery woman and get answers. After that, he would recruit Shizuo's help on the matter.

When the bell rung Izaya was out of the room in an instance. Shinra didn't even get the chance to say one word to him before he was gone. Sighing, Shinra thought he might as well try to find the girl before lunch started. He stepped out of his class and walked down the hall in the opposite direction of Izaya; he didn't want Izaya to figure out what he was doing.

It didn't take long before the very person he was looking for popped up and looked him in the eyes as she walked towards him.

As soon as he was in hearing range, Namie spoke, "You're Izaya 's friend, are you not?"

Surprised, Shinra answered, "I am. My name's Shinra, who are you?"

"Namie Yagiri, I have something to ask you concerning Izaya," she replied swiftly with a deadpan expression.

Shinra stared at her, clearly confused by the turn of events. It seemed that this Namie Yagiri had questions about Izaya just like he did. Well that was certainly unexpected.

Shinra shook off his confusion and smiled at Namie, "What a coincidence, I have questions for you too. Do you mind if I ask mine first?"

Namie looked at Shinra for a minute. What reason could she give that would be good enough for her to speak first? She couldn't think of any so she nodded shortly and crosses her arms, "Go ahead. I'm listening."

Shinra looked around and said, "Not here. Can we go somewhere more private?"

Acknowledging the people around them a quick look, Namie replied, "Come this way," and she led them into an empty classroom.

She turned back to face Shinra and raised an eyebrow, "Well? What did you want to ask me?"

"I want to know what you and Izaya were talking about before I showed up," Shinra's expression turned serious and he stepped closer to Namie, "he wouldn't tell me and I have a feeling he was trying to prevent me from talking to you."

"Oh? Why do you think that?" Namie asked, now interested in what Shinra had to say.

"Because as soon as Izaya saw me, he tried to get me away from you. And he avoided all of my questions," Shinra replied, "Not only that, but I noticed that Izaya was limping slightly. I was wondering if you knew anything about that."

Namie contemplated what Shinra was saying before answering, "It seems as though you don't know anything about it either. There's no point in talking to you then."

Namie headed for the door to leave the classroom, but Shinra stepped in front of her, "Wait! You haven't answered my question yet and what do you mean I don't know anything? Know anything about what?"

"About the bruises Izaya has here," Namie pointed to her left jaw, "and on his arm. That's what we were talking about."

Shinra looked wide eyed at Namie, and worriedly said, "Did he tell you anything about it?"

"No, he didn't. He ran away before I could get anything from him."

They stood there for a long while before Shinra spoke again, "Why are you helping Izaya anyway?"

Namie shrugged, walking out the door as the bell rang, "I was curious."

Shinra followed her, "Hey! We could ask Shizuo if he knows anything. The bruises could be from him."

"Shizuo, as in the guy who locked Izaya in a closet?" Namie asked as she turned back to face Shinra.

"Yep, that's the one," Shinra said cheerfully.

Namie looked forward again, muttering, "That guy's an idiot."

Shinra, having heard what Namie said, stared at her curiously and realized for the first time that she was the one who let Izaya out of the janitor's closet.

Smiling, Shinra said, "They should both be in the gym right now."

With lunch being over and having nothing to eat, Izaya remembered that he hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before. He was unable to eat dinner due to the unexpected arrival of his parents and breakfast was out of the question. He had completely forgotten to make himself lunch and they didn't serve food to students at Raira Academy.

While normally this wouldn't be a problem, today Izaya had gym class and he was still in a lot of pain from yesterday's incident. He was too tired to do anything as it was and add that to the lack of food in his system… Izaya knew he was in trouble. Big trouble. He thought about skipping, but knew he couldn't because his parents would find out and things would get a lot worse for him.

Izaya pushed away his thoughts and headed to the locker room to change. Izaya was the first one there and quickly started to change. Halfway through unbuttoning his shirt, Izaya realized that his gym clothes were short sleeved. Sighing, he buttoned his shirt back up and decided to just wear his uniform.

On his way out of the locker room, Izaya ran into Shizuo.

Shizuo glared at him and said, "You know you're supposed to wear gym clothes, right?" It wasn't really a question even though it was stated as one, and Izaya knew that.

Izaya didn't bother glaring back as he walked by, "I'm aware of that. Thank you, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo scoffed and went to change while Izaya made his way to the gymnasium. Pretty soon, everyone was dressed and ready for class to start. Izaya sat on the floor as they waited for the teacher to show up and watched each of his lovely humans converse with one another calmly. When he saw Shizuo coming is way, Izaya stood up quickly and was overcome with lightheadedness. His vision filled with black dots until it turned completely black. Izaya put his hand to his head and waited for it to pass.

When it did, Shizuo stood next to him, leering, "What's wrong with you?"

Izaya smiled and took a step forward, but before he could say anything his vision swam again, and he fainted. Suddenly all the talking stopped and everyone was watching as Izaya fell forward. Before Izaya hit the floor, Shizuo caught him and several students gasped.

Right at that moment the teacher walked in and saw the whole thing, "Mr. Heiwajima, you will take Mr. Orihara to the nurse's office, understood?"

Shizuo looked up at the man, "But-"

"No buts, go!" The man pointed towards the door and Shizuo picked Izaya up grudgingly.

As he walked out of the gym, Shizuo glared down at the petite figure in his arms. Not paying attention, he ended up running into Shinra and Namie.

"Shizuo! We found you!," Shinra beamed and then noticed Izaya in his arms, "What happened to Izaya?"

"I don't know! The flea just fainted on me!" Shizuo replied angrily and shoved Izaya in Shinra's arms, causing them to fall to the ground.

"Ow!" Shinra whined as Izaya fell in his lap.

"Flea?" Namie questioned as she looked between the fallen four eyes and the six foot brute, "Are you referring to Izaya?"

Shizuo looked at Namie and realization appeared in his eyes, "You're that girl I saw hugging Izaya that one time."

"And you're the inconsiderate idiot who caused that uncomfortable situation in the first place," Namie said without missing a beat.

Shizuo stared at her, not sure whether he should be upset with her or let it go. It must have sucked having to hug Izaya, and Shizuo was the cause of it so he decided to let her get away with calling him an idiot this time. Shizuo and Namie turned their attention to Shinra and Izaya when Shinra made a strange noise.

"Uh, guys," Shinra looked up from Izaya to Shizuo and Namie, "I think we have a problem."

"What's wrong?" Namie asked, walking closer to the two of them.

Picking Izaya up from the floor, Shinra stood up and started walking, "First, we have to take Izaya to the nurse's office."

When they made it to the office, Shizuo walked in first, "There's no one here, Shinra."

"Good. That's better for us," Shinra came in after Shizuo and placed Izaya on a bed.

Shizuo looked at Shinra, "Why? What are we doing?"

Namie stood on the other side of Izaya and answered Shizuo's question, "Shinra probably noticed something that he doesn't want anyone else to know."

"That's right. First of all, the reason Izaya fainted was probably from lack of food. Meaning he hasn't eaten in awhile and," Shinra unbuttoned Izaya's shirt and moved his hands, "take a look at this."

Shizuo and Namie looked at Izaya's chest and saw the horrible bruising. Shizuo narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the deep purplish-blue coloration. Now, he really wondered what was going on with Izaya. Where did he get those bruises? Who could get that close to Izaya when Shizuo himself could not? What was going on?

"I'm guessing from your expression that you didn't do this, Shizuo," Shinra said after gauging Shizuo's expression.

"No, of course not. I can't even get close enough to him to get one hit in. There's no way I could hurt him like this," Shizuo said in mild shock.

Shinra looked back down at Izaya, "Then, the question is, who did."


	13. Realization

**Okay guys, here's the next chapter. This one took longer to write than usual. In case you guys get confused at the end, it's referencing chapter 6 and chapter 9.**

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Izaya woke up with a start, his breath coming out in short, uneven gasps. As soon as he sat up, Izaya grabbed his abdomen in a vain attempt to ease the sharp pain in his side. In his pain, the only thing going through Izaya's head was the nightmare he just had.

It was about his parents. His father beating him, his mother sitting there watching, and his sisters. His little sisters were crying, but he wasn't quite sure why. He supposed it was because they were scared or maybe they were worried about him.

Izaya himself was terrified. He never thought his father would resort to violence against him. He knew the man hated him and that he probably wanted Izaya dead and gone, but he never imagined that his father would try to kill him himself. And his mother, well, she did exactly what he excepted from her in that kind of situation. She went along with everything his father did.

After Izaya got over his nightmare recap, he realized that something was wrong. His hands felt skin, not the fabric of his shirt. Izaya looked down and saw that his shirt was unbuttoned. All his bruises were out in the open so everyone could see.

'Great, the one time I decide to wear a button-down shirt, it gets used against me in the worst possible way,' Izaya thought angrily.

That thought led to another immediately and Izaya's head shot up abruptly, searching for whomever could have found out. Looking up, Izaya saw the three people he didn't want to see: Shinra, Shizuo, and Namie. They looked angry.

Trying to amend the situation, Izaya pulled his shirt closed and smiled, saying, "What are all the angry faces for, hm?"

Shinra glared at Izaya relentlessly, and Izaya was surprised at the new experience. Shinra hardly glared at anyone, not even Izaya when he probably deserved it. Izaya knew what was coming next and he was not going to like it.

"Izaya," Shinra began slowly, "where did you get those bruises from?"

'Sometimes I really hate it when I'm right,' Izaya thought regretfully.

Smiling lightly, Izaya smoothly said, "l fell down the stairs a couple of days ago."

"You expect us to believe that?" Shizuo looked at Izaya disbelievingly, with his arms cross over his chest.

"Of course I do. It's the truth after all," Izaya said and started to button up his shirt.

Shinra grabbed Izaya's wrist and pulled it away from his shirt. Izaya tried to rip his arm out of Shinra's grip, but he tightened his hold on Izaya, causing him to wince, and said, "Really, Izaya? Since when have you been clumsy enough to fall down a set of stairs? You like to play around the edge of rooftops for crying out loud!"

Izaya continued try and get his arm away from Shinra, but couldn't. He eventually gave up and instead smiled at Shinra again. His smile had an undertone of a grim sadness and he thought, 'Most people would take that as a hint for something.'

His eyes scanned around the room and stopped on Namie. She hasn't said a word since Izaya woke up.

She just stared at him with her cold, calculating eyes, trying to figure him out. It reminded Izaya a little of himself.

Izaya looked away from Namie to focus on the other occupants in the room, saying, "It just so happens that I was distracted at the time and slipped. Is that really so surprising to you, Shinra? Everyone makes mistakes like that. Even me." This time when Izaya pulled, he successfully got out of Shinra's grasp and proceeded to rub his wrist.

"No, you don't Izaya. If you did, I would have caught you by now," Shizuo said with a surprising calmness to his voice that caused Izaya to stare questioningly at him, clearly confused. Shizuo stared right back at Izaya with conviction and a slight concern.

"Why haven't you been eating?" Namie abruptly changed the topic, seeing that they were getting nowhere with there line of questioning.

Izaya stopped rubbing his wrist and widened his eyes. He tried to mask his reaction before anyone else saw it, but it was too late. The damage was already done. Still, Izaya pretended that nothing was wrong, "What makes you think that I haven't been eating? That's just ridiculous."

Izaya smiled so brightly that if they didn't know any better they would have believed him. But seeing as they did know better, it was obvious that Izaya was lying. Although the smile looked genuine, if you looked closely at him you could see a hidden dysphoria in that smile. It was almost painful to watch.

"Izaya, I know the signs of starvation. First of all, you're really pale and you fainted earlier, something that wouldn't normally happen. I noticed that you also have a cold sweat and I assume you've been dizzy as well. Tell us why, Izaya," Shinra demanded harshly.

Izaya looked away from him and got off the bed in the nurse's office, heading for the door. Murmuring, he said, "I have to go home now."

"Oh, no you don't," Shizuo said, grabbing Izaya's collar and slammed him into the wall.

Izaya cried out in pain and instead of reaching for his neck which is the normal reaction to being strangled, Izaya grabbed his sides. He tried to choke back a whimper, but failed miserably. Shizuo frowned in concern and loosened his grip on Izaya.

"What do you want?" Izaya all but pleaded, "I thought this is what you wanted, Shizuo. For someone to put me in my place. And now that someone has, you complain about it. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"We're just worried about you, Izaya" Shinra worriedly said as he walked closer to him.

"Why?" Izaya screamed, "Why do you care? Why do you care about me when my parents don't?!"

Tears were building up in the corner of Izaya's eyes and he bit his lip before continuing, "What did I ever do to make them hate me so much?"

Shizuo was shocked when saw the tears falling from Izaya's eyes and in his shock he let go of Izaya's collar. As soon as he did, Izaya slid to the floor and let the tears fall freely down his face. He didn't care that Shizuo was there witnessing the whole thing or that Shinra was completely at loss of what to do, he just silently broke down and ceased to function. He ignored everything around him and hardly felt it when a gentle hand reached out and touched his shoulder.

Shizuo didn't know what was going on. He didn't expect for Izaya to start crying so suddenly, or cry at all for that matter. This _was_ Izaya after all. He wasn't supposed to have emotions like normal people. He was supposed to be heartless, cold, emotionless. With Izaya sitting there on the floor, he looked like a lost child. A broken and damaged lost child. And Shizuo didn't know how to fix that.

Shinra was just as surprised as Shizuo was. He knew that things were bad for Izaya, but he could never imagine just how bad they were. Izaya had always pretend that everything was alright and that he was strong, and Shinra believed him to some degree. He had no idea how much of it was fake until this moment.

The first person to move after Izaya fell apart was Namie. She knelt down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Namie brought her other hand up and placed it on Izaya's bruised jaw and softly said, "Izaya, did your parents do this to you?"

With tears still staining his face, Izaya slowly looked up at Namie. He looked at her with confusion as if he was wondering why she was she was there. After a few seconds, Namie's question registered in Izaya's brain and he looked down again, more tears slipping from his eyes. The silent tears turned into sobs and Izaya's whole body started to shake. That was all the answer Namie needed.

She looked over to Shinra and he stared back at her with a horrified look. Quickly, Shinra ran to Izaya's other side and sat next to him as Izaya curled into a tight ball. Shinra began talking to Izaya quietly, but no matter what he said the sobs continued relentlessly.

Shizuo continued to stare at Izaya blankly. He couldn't believe this was happening. His worst enemy was crying his eyes out in front of him. Shizuo suddenly thought of what Namie said to him a few weeks ago:

'I suggest you consider other people's circumstances and fears before acting so rashly. You may end up regretting it.'

She was right. Shizuo did regret the way he's been treating Izaya. He just thought that Izaya acted that way because he enjoyed it, he didn't even think of the possibility that there was some other reason. Suddenly everything Shizuo learned about Izaya came rushing back:

'Iza-Nii, when do you think daddy and mommy are going to be back?'

'You don't want them to come back, do you?'

'It's like you hate them.'

'I'm not the one who's doing the hating.'

And then Shizuo's thoughts went back to the boy from the park all those years ago. That boy was in pain then too. All this time Izaya had been suffering and no one had noticed. He had his answer now. Izaya was still the sad, empty boy he was when they had first met.


	14. The Truth Comes Out

**Sorry for the super late update guys. I've been sick and busy, but here it is! Without further ado, please read, review, and enjoy!**

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Izaya continued to sob until the last bell rung, indicating the end of school. He slowly picked himself off the floor, brushing off Shinra's and Namie's hands as they tried to help him. He didn't want their help. He had completely ruined their image of him and he wanted to keep at least a little bit of dignity. They were never going to look at him the same way again. There would always be pity in their eyes whenever they looked at him and Izaya didn't know if he could handle that.

Izaya didn't bother wiping off the drying tears from his face, and instead re-buttoned his shirt. This time no one tried to stop him. After his shirt was buttoned, Izaya headed for the door. As he opened it and started to leave, Shinra voice stopped him.

"Izaya, we should tell someone about this. Get _them_ to stop hurting you. It isn't right."

Izaya didn't miss the malice in Shinra's voice as he said _them_ and it almost made him smile. Almost, but not quite. This was no smiling matter and Izaya knew that no matter how much they wanted to help him, it was impossible.

Izaya looked back at the group behind him and simply said, "Nothing would change, Shinra. My parents have a lot money. They can pay people to keep things quiet. To prevent it from spreading. This wouldn't go anywhere; it wouldn't even make it to court. It would be as if nothing ever happened, and to the rest world nothing _did_ happen. Just some messed up kid looking for attention."

Izaya grimaced then, "And you know what? They would be right. All I have ever wanted was someone's attention. For someone to acknowledge that I was alive, that I existed, that I was important. Hahahahaha, ridiculous, isn't it?" Izaya's grimace dropped and he hummed sadly, "I just couldn't stand being alone anymore, I guess."

Shinra, Namie, and Shizuo just stared at Izaya. They didn't know what to say. This was the first time any of them have seen Izaya being so open about his feelings. They had no idea Izaya had these kinds of thoughts or emotions. When Izaya started to walk out the door again, they snapped out of it.

"Wait, Izaya! There's got to be something we can do! This can't keep happening," Namie said exasperatedly and with a hint of alarm.

Izaya laughed again, but didn't turn to face her, "You don't have to worry about that, Namie. They'll only be here for a few days and then everything will go back to normal. They won't be back for several months, so really, there's nothing to be concerned about."

Shizuo looked curiously at Izaya before finally asking what he'd been wondering about ever since he saw the bruises, "How long?"

This time Izaya did turn back, he wore a confused expression and his face that clearly told Shizuo he had no idea what he was asking, "Pardon?"

Keeping eye contact with Izaya, Shizuo repeated his question, "How long have your parents been _beating_ you?"

As the words left Shizuo's lips, Izaya's face immediately darkened. He didn't answer for a long time and Shizuo wondered if he ever would. Right when Shizuo was going to give up on getting an answer, Izaya spoke, "This was the first time. He's never hit me before yesterday."

"If he only started hitting you yesterday, then why were you scared of them coming back before?" Shizuo questioned suspiciously.

Izaya smiled sardonically at Shizuo and said, "There are more than just physical ways to hurt someone, Shizu-chan."

And with that, Izaya left before anyone could stop him.

When Izaya got home, he was fully expecting his parents to be angry at him for who knows what reason, but no one was home. All the lights were off and there was no sign of his sisters or his parents. Izaya went into the kitchen and turned the lights on. He saw a piece of paper on the table and walked over to it. He picked it up and on the paper it said,

[_Dear Iza-Nii,_

_Mom and dad decided that we were going on a vacation for a couple of weeks. I asked if you could come, but dad told me that you were busy. Kururi wanted to say goodbye to you in person, but since we had to go we wrote you a letter instead. We'll miss you IzaIza._

_Love,_

_Mairu and Kururi_]

'So, they left me alone again,' Izaya thought sadly, 'and this time they took my sisters with them, too.'

Izaya set the letter back down on the table and thought that now would be a good time to get food. He made himself a sandwich and sat down at the table. He hadn't realized how hungry was until he took the first bite of a sandwich. Izaya devoured it in seconds and after it was gone, he just sat helplessly at the table and thought.

He didn't know what to do or how to handle the situation he had gotten himself into. He didn't know how to handle his sisters being gone either. He was alone again and it was all too much for him to take.

After awhile, Izaya got up off the chair and went to his room. He laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Eventually he closed his eyes, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he wanted to. Lucky for him, he didn't have school tomorrow and he could sleep as long as he wanted. Unfortunately, whenever Izaya wakes up, there will be no one there to greet him.

Izaya fell asleep after a few hours and slept through the whole night and part of the morning until he heard a loud, violent knock at his front door. Izaya groaned and pulled his blankets over his head, trying to ignore the sound. The knocking became louder and Izaya could hear a voice yelling at him from outside.

Begrudgingly, Izaya threw the blankets off of him and forced himself to get out of bed through the pain he still felt. Once he did, he stomped down the stairs, to the door. He pulled the door open and glared at the person on the other side. Seeing Shizuo and Shinra, Izaya tried to slam the door, but Shizuo's foot prevented the door from closing and he pushed his way into the house.

"What are you doing here?" Izaya asked angrily as Shizuo looked around his house, "Can you please leave?"

Shizuo ignored Izaya and Shinra just smiled. They walked further into his house and Izaya realized what they were looking for.

"They're not here," Izaya said as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, "no one is. Now, do you want to tell me why you guys are here?"

They both looked at him and Shinra replied, "We just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Izaya sighed and pushed himself off the wall. He went into the kitchen to make himself some breakfast and looked over at Shinra and Shizuo, "Yeah, I'm fine. And since you don't seem like you're going to leave anytime soon, why don't you join me for breakfast."


	15. One More Guest

**I am so sorry for the very late update. I hope you like this chapter. Please read, review, and enjoy the 15th chapter of Trapped!**

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Almost immediately after he gave them the invitation, Izaya regretted it. Why, oh why did he ask them to join him for breakfast? They just kept staring at him as he made French Toast, and it unnerved him. Although, if Izaya was being completely honest with himself, he was actually glad they were here. He hated being by himself. For now, Izaya decided to ignore their annoying behavior.

He continued to ignore the staring until he finished making breakfast. Once done, Izaya turned around and presented the full plate of toast and laid it out on the table next to the syrup. He got plates for his guests, and after setting them in front of them he grabbed some French Toast and started to eat.

Only then did he realize just how much pain he was in. He hadn't noticed it before since he was still heavy with sleep, but now that he was fully awake, the pain was felt with full force. He was careful to keep the pain from showing on his face and instead replaced it with a deliberately blank expression.

Shizuo and Shinra followed everything Izaya did with their eyes, looking for any signs that something was wrong. The only unusual thing they found was the blank look on his face and the hospitality he was showing them. That and the fact that he looked like he just got out of bed. Which, now that they thought about it, was probably the case.

He had a minor case of bed-head and was paler than usual, making the dark bags forming under his crimson eyes and the bruise on his jaw appear more prominent. Izaya was wearing his pajamas which consisted of a red tank and black sweatpants. The red tank revealed all the ugly bruises on Izaya's arms, a fact he apparently had yet to notice, and fell slightly off his left shoulder. All in all, Izaya did not look very good.

They watched as he silently ate his food before Izaya looked up and stared back at them.

Putting his arm on the table and leaning his head against it, Izaya looked at them with forced boredom, "You can eat, you know. It's not poisoned."

Shinra blinked and laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck, "Oh... sorry. I guess I was kind of distracted for a minute."

Izaya raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes, I can see that. Now, since you don't seem to be eating and there's obviously no more reason for you to be here, I think it's time I kick you out..."

Shizuo started to protest, but stopped once he realized that Izaya hadn't actually tried to kick them out yet. Even after the words left his mouth, Izaya made no move to do as he threatened. He just continued to stare at them and gradually his eyes began to glaze over.

Once they noticed the sudden change, Shizuo and Shinra got up from their spot at the table and walked over to Izaya. Shinra put his hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly, "Izaya, hello? Are you still there?"

When he got no response, Shinra's brow creased in worry and he started waving his hand in front of Izaya's face. Still he got no answer.

"Is he alright?" Shizuo asked with curiosity and slight concern.

"I'm... not sure," Shinra replied, still attempting to rouse Izaya from his daze, "He's not responding to anything I do."

Nothing Shinra or Shizuo said registered in Izaya's mind as he spaced out. He was too tired and in too much pain to care about what was going on around him. The pain wasn't just physical either. It was psychological as well. He had been through a lot in his short, meaningless life and he suddenly realized he couldn't take much more of it. If he went through one more painful thing, Izaya swore he'd break. And no one would be able to put him back together.

Feeling frustrated, Shizuo was about to slap Izaya when he finally came to. It wasn't because of the shouting or the shaking from Shizuo and Shinra, or even being almost slapped. It was because of the doorbell. All of a sudden, Izaya remembered that he had guests and quickly blinked back into reality. The doorbell rung again and Izaya abruptly stood up.

"I better go get that," he said quietly before heading to the door, leaving behind a stunned Shinra and a mildly upset Shizuo.

Shizuo glared after him and said, "Man, what the heck is up with him?"

Shinra gave no response and continued looking in the direction Izaya had left from before following him. Shizuo, having nothing else to do, followed after Shinra.

Once he got to the door, Izaya cautiously opened it and found yet another person he'd rather not see today: Namie. Great. The world was out to get him. Life was so unfair.

"Namie, what brings you to my humble abode," He asked with strained lightness that did not go unnoticed by Namie.

Even so, she raised her eyebrow in a way that practically said, 'Humble. You're kidding, right?' Izaya's house was anything but humble with its size and grandeur. His parents always did have a taste for the exquisite.

Namie looked at him through the space in the door he left open and saw his arm resting on the doorframe. "I see you've decided to show off your bruises. It's worse than I thought," Namie said simply and watched as Izaya's eyes widen in surprise.

He quickly looked down at his arm and realized his arms were completely bare, and his bruises were out in the open for the whole world to see.

"Dang it," he hissed and moved away from the door, unintentionally allowing Namie entrance into his home.

Once she stepped in, she noticed she was not the only one who decided to visit Izaya today. She nodded her head in acknowledgement towards the two other occupants in the room. They nodded back and she turned her attention to Izaya again as he started up the stairs.

"Where are you going, Izaya?" Namie asked and trailed after him, Shizuo and Shinra deciding to stay behind.

He gave her a slight frown and replied sharply with, "To get a jacket. Obviously."

They reached the top of the stairs and Izaya headed to the farthest room in the unnecessarily large hallway. Once he got to the door, he turned around and, upon noticing Namie was still there, glared bitterly.

"Stop following me. It's rude."

Namie stared at him apathetically, "You're just getting a jacket, right? I see no reason why I shouldn't follow you."

Izaya continued to look at her for a moment before sheer annoyance appeared on his face. He was hoping to take some painkillers while he got his jacket, but seeing as Namie was there, there was no way he could do that. Being in pain caused him to be in a bad mood and it was getting harder to hide his agony from everyone the more time passed. Resigning himself to his fate, Izaya decided to forget about the painkillers for now. He could hide his pain a little longer.

Namie didn't look like she was going to leave him alone anytime soon, so Izaya thought he might as well hurry up get it over with. In a huff, he opened his door and walked in. Namie was surprised to see that the only thing inside of Izaya's room was a bed and a small closet. There was no dresser, no nightstand, no books, and not even a single personal item to be found. The only sign that Izaya actually lived in this room was the unkempt bed.

Izaya opened his closet to get his jacket and Namie noticed that his closet was lacking as well. At most, he only had three pairs of pants and five shirts in that closet, and again, no personal items. Namie suddenly wondered just how badly Izaya had been treated to not have even one thing to call his own. After putting on his jacket, Izaya turned to face her and looked at her with confusion once he saw her face, "What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

It was then that Namie realized she had a look of horror on her face. Her normally uncaring, unfeeling face was replaced by dismay and concern for the poor boy in front of her. And her concern confused her. Namie had never cared about anyone but Seiji before and now, here she was, worrying about someone she previously thought she couldn't care less about.

"Is this everything you own?" She found herself asking.

Izaya's expression deepened with puzzlement. "Yes..." He said slowly, not seeing what had caused her unusual behavior.

Namie said nothing after that and just continued to stare. Izaya, not liking her expression, started leaving his room and walked back down the stairs. Shortly after, Namie left the room as well.

As Izaya came down the stairs, he wondered what Namie was so upset about. He didn't think he had done something to cause that sort of reaction, but then again, he might have. He was the kind of person to easily anger or annoy someone. But Namie hadn't looked anger or annoyed. She looked almost... concerned. Not an emotion he was used to having directed at him and that just caused him to wonder even more.

Izaya felt his arm being pulled from behind and he suddenly found himself face to face with Namie. The look on her face changed and was now full of determination. She pulled Izaya past Shizuo and Shinra, and over to his living room. She pushed him down onto a couch and stood in front of him with a sincere expression.

By now, Shinra and Shizuo were in the living room as well and stood next to Namie just in time to hear her say, "Izaya, tell me everything your parents have done to you. Even if we can't get it to stop, we can still do something to help. You've just got to trust us."

For the first time in his life, Izaya didn't know what to say.


	16. Alone Forever

**Here is chapter 16! Please read, review, and enjoy!**

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Izaya stared up at Namie blankly as he processes her demand. She wanted him to tell her everything. He couldn't do that, could he? What would he tell her, that he'd been neglected all his life? That wasn't anything big. There were children out there who were starving, some that didn't have homes. What could he complain about?

But Izaya knew that neglect _was_ a big deal and could cause serious damage to a child. He knew that _he_ had been severely damaged.

He knew something was wrong with him as a child when he couldn't figure out how to get along with the other children. He would watch them for hours, trying to figure them out, but he couldn't understand. Why was it so easy for them? How could they connect with each other and make friends so easily? That was when Izaya realized that they weren't the weird ones. He was.

He started researching any possible things that could be wrong with him. Anything that made him different from the others. After hours of searching, he found it. A psychological report about the effects of neglect on children. And suddenly everything made sense.

He couldn't connect with the other children because he wasn't capable of it. Not in the same way as them, anyway. Even knowing this, Izaya still wanted to be like them, and so he watched and he observed until he was sure he could be just like they were. Only, he couldn't.

Izaya tried. He tried _so_ hard, but all he accomplished was making them fear him. They were scared of him and for the longest time, Izaya didn't understand why. All he wanted was to have friends, but even that was something almost impossible for him to accomplish. In all his years trying to be normal, trying to be liked, Izaya has only managed to make one friend and even that he fears won't last long.

Izaya finally decided. No, he couldn't tell Namie. It was too dangerous, too many things could happen that he wouldn't be able to predict. He couldn't afford that, not now.

Izaya pushed past the pain in his body and smiled, "There's nothing to tell, Namie. I told you before, that was the first time they ever harmed me."

Namie raised her eyebrow in doubt, "Maybe physically, but you yourselves said that there are more ways to hurt someone than physically, did you not?"

"Yeah, I remember him saying that," Shizuo said and stepped closer to Izaya. Izaya, in turn, leaned further back in his couch, trying to get as far away from Shizuo as possible.

Izaya glared and hissed out, "I only said that so you would leave me alone." He had forgotten about that little slip up.

"Really, Izaya? Then explain your room," Namie said, causing Shinra and Shizuo to look at her curiously.

Izaya's glare turned into a look of confusion as he stared up at the three figures before him, "What's wrong with my room."

Izaya had no idea what she was going on about. What could possibly be wrong with his room? It wasn't a mess, well, besides his unmade bed, but she couldn't be talking about that, could she? He just woke up a short while ago to entertain 'unwanted' guests.

Izaya's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden sharp pain running through his entire body and he had to bite his lip to keep the pain from showing on his face.

"Your so-called 'room' is completely empty. There's no nightstand, no dresser, not even a single thing in there that shows you actually live there," Namie said exasperatedly, frustrated that Izaya didn't seem to understand the implications.

She was pleased, however, to see Shinra's and Shizuo's shocked expressions. At least they understood. Izaya just looked more and more confused by the minute.

After a minute to compose himself from the sudden pain, Izaya spoke, "And why is that a problem, exactly?" His voice was slightly strained and he hoped that no one noticed.

He was surprised when Shinra began to speak erratically, "How can you not see the problem with that, Izaya?! How is it that you can be so smart and yet, at the same time, be so completely dense?!"

"It's just a room, Shinra. It's nothing to get so worked up over," Izaya said and furrowed his brows from pain and confusion.

"Your sisters have items in _their_ room, don't they?"

"Well, yes but-"

"Then why don't you?" Shinra interrupted him before he could finish speaking.

Izaya sat in silence for a while before sighing and standing up. He pushed past Namie, Shizuo, and Shinra and began walking up the stairs. He couldn't stand the pain anymore and he was getting tired of his house guests. He didn't care if they knew he was in pain anymore and just wanted to take his painkillers.

"Izaya, where are you going?" Namie asked as all three of them followed him up the stairs this time.

Izaya just ignored her and continued up the stairs. Shinra noticed that Izaya had started to limp, but before he could say anything, Shizuo spoke first.

"Oi, flea! Don't ignore her, answer the question!" Shizuo glared as he walked after him.

Izaya didn't look back, but answered anyway, "I see no point in telling you if you're coming along anyway."

Shizuo, not liking that answer, growled in return. Shinra put a calming hand on Shizuo's arm and gave him a sheepish smile before looking back towards Izaya with worry.

Izaya walked down the hall and entered the room on the other side. Shizuo found the hall... peculiar. It was a rather large and _long_ hallway, yet, despite its size, it only had four rooms. Three rooms were located near the stairs and the last room was at the far end of the hall.

It was almost eerie with the way the door stuck out, all by itself. Shizuo almost hoped that it wasn't Izaya's room. But when Izaya walked, Shizuo's fears were confirmed. This lone room was Izaya's.

Shizuo followed Namie and Shinra inside the room and the first thing he noticed was how spacious it was. Spacious and empty. Sure enough, Namie was right. The only visible item in Izaya's room was his bed, which was rather small for such a large room. Shizuo took his attention away from the room and focused it back on Izaya to see him approach his small bed.

When he was right next to his bed, Izaya reached under his pillow and pulled out a bottle of painkillers. He opened the bottle and took out two of the small pills, putting them both in his mouth.

Shinra noticed the type of medicine it was and began to panic, "Izaya! You shouldn't take two of those!"

Of course, he was already too late and Izaya swallowed them whole. He sat on his bed and closed his eyes tight, waiting for the medicine to take effect. But knowing that it would take at least 20 minutes, he opened his eyes and addressed the three.

"How long are you planning on staying here? It's not like I'm doing anything interesting and honestly, I'd like to go back to bed. I don't have the patience or the energy to entertain you anymore, so I would appreciate it if you would leave now. Without being forced," Izaya said and Shinra could hear the strain in his voice now.

"How long have you been in pain?" Shinra asked curiously. He knew Izaya was the type to hide his pain and emotions from others and wouldn't take medicine in front of anyone unless absolutely necessary.

Izaya frowned and avoided the question, "That's another thing I have a problem with you being here. You come into my house uninvited and think that you can interrogate me and get the answers you want. Not only is that rude, but it's also very annoying. Now, can you please leave?"

Izaya jumped slightly when he heard a loud 'thud' and looked over to see that Shizuo had hit he fist against his wall, fortunately not damaging it. Never the less, Izaya yelled out in dismay.

"What are you _doing_?! Are you _trying_ to break my wall?! Do you know who has to pay for that if it breaks?!"

Shizuo silenced Izaya with a glare and stomped over to him. He grabbed Izaya by the collar of his shirt and lifted him of his bed, causing Izaya to flinch.

Shizuo pulled him closer to his face and said with a growl, "This whole time you've been lying to us or avoiding our questions, and frankly, I'm getting angry. You better start giving us straight answers or-"

"Or what, Shizu-chan," Izaya said as his face changed back to its expressionless mask, "You'll hit me? Break my arm? Ruin my life? You can do whatever you want, Shizu-chan. I really don't care. I just want to be left alone and if it takes you hitting me, then fine, do your worst. Just get out of my house."

Shizuo stared at Izaya for a long time before angrily throwing him back on his bed. He stomped to the door and stopped turning back to glower at Izaya, "If this is how you treat people who are trying to help you, hen you'll get your wish. You'll be alone for the rest of your life."

Shizuo left the room in a flurry of anger and Shinra followed after him, saying, "Shizuo, wait! Don't be like that!"

Izaya never bothered sitting up and instead, curled up in a tight ball on his bed. He had forgotten that Namie was still in the room until she spoke, surprising him, "He's right, you know. If you keep pushing people away, you'll have no one left."

"Shut up," Izaya said bitterly, and Namie left his room and his house as well.


	17. Darkness

**Sorry for the long wait, guys, but here's the next chapter. I'm not sure if it turned out well, so I'd appreciate any advice or ideas people may have. Please read, review, and enjoy!**

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Even long after they left, Izaya was still thinking about what Shizuo and Namie said to him.

'You'll be alone for the rest of your life.'

'You'll have no one left.'

"I don't care," Izaya said angrily to himself, "at least that way I won't get hurt."

But even as he said this, Izaya knew it wasn't true. He didn't want to be alone anymore. He'd been alone for his entire life and he didn't think he could stand to be alone forever. He would literally die from loneliness. Just like a rabbit.

Izaya turned around in his bed. He had been in the same spot ever since they left, only moving to eat or use the restroom. He didn't even bother taking more painkillers. Not that it mattered; he couldn't feel _anything_ at the moment, let alone pain.

It was now Monday and if Izaya didn't get up soon, he was going to be late for school and his parents would be angry. For once, he found himself not caring. Usually, Izaya was happy to go to school. If not to get away from his parent, then it was because of his sisters. He loved walking his sisters to their own school and knowing that by the end of the day, they would be excited to see him when he picked him up. They would smile at him brightly and tell them all about their day as they each clung to one of his hands. His sisters loved him and they were literally the light of his life. But today they weren't here. And without them, Izaya was forever stuck in a darkness that threatened to consume him every waking moment.

Maybe this darkness was just an effect from taking that extra painkiller the other day. Or maybe it had always been there, lurking in the shadows of Izaya's broken soul. Either way, it was here now and he couldn't escape from it.

Izaya was falling, falling, falling in a never ending pit of despair and aloneness with nowhere to escape to. He felt himself suffocating in this darkness to the point where he actually began to stop breathing. Everything was sucked into it: his emotions, his pain, his thoughts, even his senses.

He was back in the closet his father locked him in as a child and Izaya was terrified. He knew that this was all in his head and that he was still safe on his bed, but he couldn't get rid of the fear deep in his gut. Izaya had to get away from it. He had to banish the darkness from his mind and the only way he knew how to do that was to find people. People would make everything better.

Izaya forced himself off his bed through the darkness and got dressed. He had to go to school. School was the only safe place for him now. School had people and Izaya needed people to get rid of the darkness. The darkness known as loneliness.

As soon as Izaya was dressed, he ran out his front door and straight to school. When he saw the all the people, Izaya was able to breath normally again and the darkness subsided. It didn't disappear completely though, and it probably wouldn't for a while, but it was enough.

He slowly began to calm down as he walked farther into the school, towards civilization. His breathing went back to normal and all his senses returned to him. This of course, included his pain as well. But Izaya didn't care about that right now; he couldn't.

All he was concerned with was the fact that he was no longer alone. Even if the people hated him, even if they wanted him dead, Izaya was happy as long as he was with someone else. He even preferred his father's beatings to the agony loneliness brought him.

Izaya smiled brightly as he walked into the school building. Right now, he pretended he didn't have a care in the world. Not for his pain, not for the cold looks people gave him, and not for the worried glances he got from Shinra and Namie. He smiled at them as though everything was as it should be. He smiled like they were oblivious to all his suffering and they knew nothing about him. Izaya pretended that he was now the same Izaya that everyone knew and despised. He pretended that he wasn't broken.

Izaya sat through class with a smirk on his face, but that was about as Izaya as he got. He didn't make jabs at the people around him. He didn't torment or manipulate or harass. He just... sat silently with that smile, only talking when spoken to. No one seemed to notice Izaya's change in behavior. They didn't even seem to notice Izaya's bruised face. They just avoided him like usual and tried not to get in his way. The only ones who seemed to notice was Shinra and Shizuo. And Shizuo watched Izaya like a hawk.

Shizuo just couldn't figure Izaya out. He didn't understand what made him tick. Why didn't Izaya cover up his bruise this time? Why was he smiling? What did Izaya have to smile about? Just a few days ago, the boy was crying on the infirmary floor after revealing things about himself he probably never intended to let out. And now, here he was smiling as if he was having the best day of his life, and Shizuo knew that that wasn't possible. Shizuo hated to admit it, but he was worried about Izaya. It seemed that Shinra was thinking along the same lines as Shizuo was when he turned towards him with a serious look.

"Shizuo, I think there's something seriously wrong with Izaya."

Shizuo nodded at Shinra's statement and continued to stare at Izaya. He had yet to do or say anything about their staring like he usually did and Shizuo had to wonder what was going through his head. It was almost like Izaya was in his own little world where no one else could hope to enter. After awhile, Shinra spoke again, "I think it has to do with his sisters being gone."

At this, Shizuo turned to look at Shinra for the first time that day. Now, he was interested.

"What do you mean?"

Shinra hummed thoughtfully before saying, "It's just something I remember Izaya saying after I confronted him about the closet incident."

Shizuo knew what Shinra was referring to and suddenly felt guilty. At the time, he had no idea that the flea was claustrophobic, and he locked him in a dark closet for thirty minutes. Now, he wished he had been a little nicer to Izaya.

"I tried to get him to let me help and, of course, he refused. When I told him that he needed someone's help, Izaya told me that he had help, from his sisters," Shinra paused for a moment and his eyes suddenly became sad, "His sisters aren't here now and I have to wonder, just how much did he need them? How much is he hurting by himself now that they're gone? Is this the first time Izaya has been without his sisters to help him through his pain? Tell me, Shizuo. Do you think Izaya will be okay?"

Shinra gave Shizuo a lot to think about. From what Shizuo has seen, Izaya looked the happiest when he was with his sisters. Even though there was an emptiness in his eyes when they weren't looking, Izaya still seemed more alive around them. Would Izaya be okay without them? Shizuo wasn't so sure.

"I don't know, Shinra, but let's hope so."

Days passed and Izaya was still the same. The smirk was still pasted on his face and the only thing changing about him were his eyes. His eyes darkened and became more unfocused, more empty. Each day the darkness he felt grew more and more intense and it took all of his effort just to get himself out of bed. He felt trapped within his own loneliness and despair, unable to feel anything else. The only thing that kept him going was the knowledge that his sisters would be back. That he wouldn't be alone forever.

It was now Friday and Izaya hadn't talked to or bothered anyone all week. People were starting to notice. They noticed Izaya's silence and the lack of destruction. They noticed the bruise adorning Izaya's face, but most of all, they noticed the dead look in his eyes. Most people were glad about the change in Izaya while other's were worried. The teachers tried talking to Izaya, as did some of the students, but now Izaya wasn't even speaking when people tried to engage him in conversation. He even dropped the smirk, no longer seeing a point in trying to smile. He just looked out the windows next to his seat.

Shinra watched him worriedly and jumped when someone touched his shoulder. When he turned to see who it was, he found Kyohei Kadota.

"Oh hey, Kadota. What's up?" Shinra smiled warmly at his friend.

Kyohei briefly looked at Izaya before looking back at Shinra, "What's wrong with Izaya? Is this some sort of new game he's playing, or what? And where is Shizuo? Usually he'd be here picking a fight with Izaya."

Shinra's smile faltered and he, too, looked at Izaya, "No, this is no game. And I'm not exactly sure what's wrong either, though I have my suspicions. He won't talk, even to me. It's quite worrying. And Shizuo, well, he couldn't stand the silence, so he left. He said it unnerved him or something."

Kyohei was about to answer when Shizuo came in with Namie in tow. Shinra was shocked and watched as the two came farther into the classroom. Shizuo was pulling Namie by her arm and Namie didn't look too happy.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Namie demanded as they approached Shinra and Shizuo finally let go.

Namie rubbed her wrist and noticed Izaya sitting next to the window. She looked at Shizuo and said, "Why did you bring me here?"

"To talk to Izaya," Shizuo said simply and shrugged.

"Why would you do that, Shizuo? You know Izaya isn't talking to anyone right now," Shinra said sounding just as confused as Namie looked.

Shizuo sighed and shook his head, "He'll talk to Namie."

"What makes you think that?" Kyohei asked what everyone else was thinking.

Frustrated, Shizuo spoke slowly as if to a dense child, "Because, Izaya is more open with Namie than with any of us. And what are you doing here, Kyohei? You're not apart of this."

"I am now," Kyohei said hotly and crossed his arms.

Shinra and Namie were left thinking about what Shizuo had said. How in the world was Izaya more open with Namie? He avoided her questions just like everyone else. Shizuo really must be insane. Why else would he think that?

Knowing that there was no point in arguing with Shizuo, Namie decided just to go with it, "Fine, I'll try. But don't be disappointed when it doesn't work."

Namie walked over to Izaya and sat in the seat in front of him. She watched him for a moment, evaluating his expression or lack thereof. She looked past the emptiness in his eyes and saw the sadness and pain. Finally, Namie spoke, "What's wrong Izaya? Why are you so sad?"

She knew it was a stupid question. What reason does Izaya have NOT to be sad? From what Namie could tell, Izaya's life was hell. Still, she asked him, hoping that he would talk to her. He didn't, of course, just like she thought, but he did turn to look at her. That was a plus.

"Won't you you talk to me? I want to help," now, why she wanted to help, Namie didn't know. She had told herself time and again that she was only curious, that she didn't care, but she always found him on her mind. These past few days she hasn't seen him, Namie's been worrying about Izaya constantly. She was abruptly brought out of her thoughts when Izaya spoke.

"How are you going to help me?"

Namie focused her attention back on Izaya. She saw curiosity and a faint hope hidden in his expression, and she didn't want to let him down. Namie smiled at Izaya and said, "First of all, let's get you out of here,okay?"

Namie took his hand and lead him past shocked students, and left the classroom. All Shinra, Shizuo, and Kyohei could do was stare after them as they vanished from sight.


End file.
